JeneralMom Posted May 6, 2012 Share Posted May 6, 2012 We have lived in our rental house for 3.5 years. Our landlord is letting us stay until we need to move to Australia but is showing the house for rent or sale. She contracted with the real estate agent who sold her the house to either rent or sell it. The agent has come to see the house and done an inventory. She commented how the carpets and blinds were original and the paint was still the builders primer coat and the house is almost 30 years old. She also commented on how nice and clean the house is especially with all my kids and pets. Well, she also said that she only wanted to show on the weekends and I told her all I needed was 24hrs notice so I could wash everything and make plans for DH to stay home with me to help walk the dogs. She has called and we have made concessions several time for early morning weekday appointments only to have people never show up. I even washed the carpet the day after I dislocated my collar bone. Only 1 person has actually shown up to see the house and he left because of the walls, carpet and blinds, even though those are being replaced. Well, tonight I get an angry email from my landlord (who lives across the country) stating the that agent has told her that we never let her show the place, we never respond to her (we can never reach her on the phone), that the place is filthy and smells bad (I have spent hundreds in cleaning supplies, even so far as to get chemical cleaners despite the fact that 2 of my kids and I react to chemical cleaners), that we have destroyed the house. I am furious. I sent off a strongly worded letter to my landlord telling her the truth, explaining how DH has actually taken hours out of work, how I lose days of my schooling time to clean the house and make it perfect for showing. It is not my fault the blinds/carpet/walls are old or that the toilets have hard water build-up. How should I deal with this if the agent keeps lying? We actually had someone show up at our door yesterday afternoon while I was out doing things with my dad who is visiting. They claimed to have trying to reach the agent for weeks with no luck and took a chance we would be home. DH was home alone with pets and kids so asked if they could come back Sunday. I am not sure they will come. I am really upset that someone is telling my landlord these lies about us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyof4ks Posted May 6, 2012 Share Posted May 6, 2012 I would take pictures of the house and email them to the landlord, and then ask that appointments for showings be sent via email to both you and the landlord. All correspondence should be through email about showings, so you and the landlord are both in the same loop getting the same info. How frustrating! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oakblossoms Posted May 6, 2012 Share Posted May 6, 2012 What she said;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laundrycrisis Posted May 6, 2012 Share Posted May 6, 2012 It sounds like the agent is doing a terrible job and trying to cover her own poor performance by making up lies and using those as her excuses. I agree - sent the landlord pictures of the inside of the house. Tell her about the person at the door who had not been able to get a response out of the agent. Explain what terms you need for showing and offer your email address as a way to be notified of all showing requests. Demonstrate that you are open and easy to communicate with, the house is very clean, and the agent is misrepresenting the entire situation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jpoy85 Posted May 6, 2012 Share Posted May 6, 2012 send pics and get it ALL in writing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted May 6, 2012 Share Posted May 6, 2012 They claimed to have trying to reach the agent for weeks with no luck and took a chance we would be home. DH was home alone with pets and kids so asked if they could come back Sunday. I am not sure they will come. I am really upset that someone is telling my landlord these lies about us. The landlord should want to KNOW about this rental agent. S/he could get screwed by this, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
celticmom Posted May 6, 2012 Share Posted May 6, 2012 It sounds like the agent is doing a terrible job and trying to cover her own poor performance by making up lies and using those as her excuses. I agree - sent the landlord pictures of the inside of the house. Tell her about the person at the door who had not been able to get a response out of the agent. Explain what terms you need for showing and offer your email address as a way to be notified of all showing requests. Demonstrate that you are open and easy to communicate with, the house is very clean, and the agent is misrepresenting the entire situation. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted May 6, 2012 Share Posted May 6, 2012 I don't know, but :grouphug: what a frustrating situation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mungo Posted May 6, 2012 Share Posted May 6, 2012 You know what works great on toilets? That clorox toilet gel: http://m.clorox.com/products/toilet-bowl-cleaner-clinging-bleach-gel They also have a hard water/rust version. I would give it a try on the toilets. If that doesn't work, then you might try a pumice stone. Sorry about the situation, sounds like a serious pain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mynyel Posted May 6, 2012 Share Posted May 6, 2012 I agree with the others! Take pictures and email them to the LL. Then tell the LL you want to be in the loop for showing as you can never get a hole of the agent yourself. Keep us posted! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reflections Posted May 6, 2012 Share Posted May 6, 2012 Couple of things: FIRST you do NOT have to make a special effort to clean the house for showings. If you bought special stuff to clean the house with just for these showings - find the receipts and make copies of them and then hand a copy to the realtor and mail the others to the landlord. As a renter with a signed lease, you are under no obligation - you are being nice and that is being trampled on. That realtor thinks that they have a free ride here because the owner is out of town. Second: unless the realtor is a broker of their own real estate office - that realtor has a boss called a broker. Call the office's main number and ask to speak with the broker - no not another realtor - THE broker of the office. And tell him that the realtor is throwing you all under the bus and you want it to stop now. There are usually special laws in place that apply to this situation. Tell him about missed showings and the erroneous stories they are telling to the landlord and how that is effecting your relationship with the landlord and - oh, how awful it would be if you were kicked out because the realtor got it wrong. You will make the realtor mad - but what has happened here to you is wrong - don't let it keep happening. Third: Document everything in writing and email your landlord and cc the realtor and the broker weekly. You are being nice by being so available when you are under no obligation to do so - but don't be this realtor's doormat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tammyla Posted May 6, 2012 Share Posted May 6, 2012 :iagree: I would take pictures of the house and email them to the landlord, and then ask that appointments for showings be sent via email to both you and the landlord. All correspondence should be through email about showings, so you and the landlord are both in the same loop getting the same info. How frustrating! Imo...fwiw, Honey, you're just easy to blame. kwim? Pretty much every agent wants to sell themselves as the golden one to their clients. You are the bad guy (expect it) because she doesn't need to impress or work for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tammyla Posted May 6, 2012 Share Posted May 6, 2012 :iagree:Don't kill yourselves preparing for showings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommaduck Posted May 6, 2012 Share Posted May 6, 2012 You know what works great on toilets? That clorox toilet gel:http://m.clorox.com/products/toilet-bowl-cleaner-clinging-bleach-gel They also have a hard water/rust version. I would give it a try on the toilets. If that doesn't work, then you might try a pumice stone. Sorry about the situation, sounds like a serious pain. A metal spoon. Believe it or not, you can chip that stuff out. It take some elbow grease and, yes, it's a bit of a dirty job, but it can be done. We've always rented and it's always been considered part of regular care and cleaning for a home. If you keep at it from the start, you'll not have a huge problem with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeneralMom Posted May 11, 2012 Author Share Posted May 11, 2012 Sorry, I just got back to this thread. Turns out that my landlord 100% believes me and has had it out with the realtor. We haven't been called about any more showings and if we are, I will tidy up but not go crazy. We have people visiting for the next few weeks (different people but one after the other), I will probably have to drive my dog and cat from San Antonio to Montreal because my mum is taking them for me, and then DH will have to probably drive our Great Dane to Montana because his sister is taking the Dane for us, so we will be crazy busy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TranquilMind Posted May 11, 2012 Share Posted May 11, 2012 KatherineTheGreat: Couple of things: FIRST you do NOT have to make a special effort to clean the house for showings. If you bought special stuff to clean the house with just for these showings - find the receipts and make copies of them and then hand a copy to the realtor and mail the others to the landlord. The landlord is not obligated to pay for cleaning supplies and sending a bill for cleaning products you decided to buy (unless he ordered you to do so in writing, suggesting he would pay) is a really bad idea. I do agree that you need not make any special effort to clean, but landlords sure appreciate those who do. In fact, I paid a tenant $100 bucks just last month for making a real effort, resulting in me acquiring a new tenant quickly. As a renter with a signed lease, you are under no obligation - you are being nice and that is being trampled on. That realtor thinks that they have a free ride here because the owner is out of town. Not necessarily true; it depends upon the wording of the Lease. MY Lease reserves the right to do showings for certain hours. In practice, I only bring by extremely well-qualified prospects and then only if the tenant tends to be really neat anyway. But this tenant may well be obligated by the Lease terms to allow showings, and even if not, the tenant is required to be "reasonable." Second: unless the realtor is a broker of their own real estate office - that realtor has a boss called a broker. Call the office's main number and ask to speak with the broker - no not another realtor - THE broker of the office. And tell him that the realtor is throwing you all under the bus and you want it to stop now. There are usually special laws in place that apply to this situation. Tell him about missed showings and the erroneous stories they are telling to the landlord and how that is effecting your relationship with the landlord and - oh, how awful it would be if you were kicked out because the realtor got it wrong. You will make the realtor mad - but what has happened here to you is wrong - don't let it keep happening. Well, this isn't a bad idea, but don't do it emotionally. Stick to the facts. On X date, this occurred. On X date, this other thing occurred, resulting in X effect to you. State where the facts the agent is sharing are erroneous. Include a request that a new agent show the house if this one is unable to be factual. Third: Document everything in writing and email your landlord and cc the realtor and the broker weekly. Yes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TranquilMind Posted May 11, 2012 Share Posted May 11, 2012 Sorry, I just got back to this thread. Turns out that my landlord 100% believes me and has had it out with the realtor. We haven't been called about any more showings and if we are, I will tidy up but not go crazy. We have people visiting for the next few weeks (different people but one after the other), I will probably have to drive my dog and cat from San Antonio to Montreal because my mum is taking them for me, and then DH will have to probably drive our Great Dane to Montana because his sister is taking the Dane for us, so we will be crazy busy. Whoops, must have posted at the same time. Glad it worked out for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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