In the past, I would call someone and schedule things. Now, they call me and tell when they will be here. I don't like that arrangement.
Wednesday afternoon I got a call from our management company that said that they were sending an appraiser over Friday afternoon between 2-3 pm and wanted to see if I would be home or if they needed to send him with a key.
My first thought was WHY!
An appraiser at this point can only mean one thing: our landlord is refinancing. Why not? Rates are low, maybe she is thinking we need new carpet:-)
An appraiser at any other time is usually associated with the sale of the home. But because market conditions are always on the move, appraisals don't usually happen until the home has had an offer made. That would require a For Sale sign in the yard, and there isn't one.
And then I thought, maybe they call the person who comes over to make sure you haven't trashed the property an appraiser. It could be one of those terms like "domestic engineer" to describe my work as a stay at home parent.
I still have no idea what is going on, only that I didn't have an option to say "this isn't a convenient time". That is a first, and is mildly uncomfortable.
If it were my home, I could schedule it whenever I wanted. But it's not. And I am thankful that it isn't. Only 8 months until we get to return the key, pick up the deposit, and get out of town. What a change that will be from our last move. I am looking forward with delight to that day!
As for today, not much delight to be had. I live like a normal person... my house isn't spotless. I can get away with giving the idea that things are clean because only two rooms are visible form the front door. And I can count on one hand the number of people who have been to the door. As long as no one goes upstairs, uses the powder room, or goes in my bedroom I can keep up the facade. And I make a point to keep those two rooms clean just in case. But an appraiser is going to be everywhere during the same visit. There will be no where to hide or stash.
That has given me cause to panic. Especially because I don't know why they are coming! Only that all my stuff will be on display. Time to remove the bras from the door knobs, make the bed, fold the laundry, sweep/mop and dust.
The only thing I did have the presence of mind to ask was what the gentleman's name was that would be coming over so I would know who to expect.
Oh my gosh I had a very similar problem recently. In our city, rental homes are supposed to be inspected by the city every 2 years. So our house was up a few months ago. Not fun. I totally did do about a week of cleaning before the scheduled date. I don't really know why, but I wanted to make sure that we looked like really good tenants & like if they found any problems they weren't our fault. I know it really doesn't make a difference, but it made me more comfortable for the place to be super clean.
ReplyDeleteI am the same way! I busted my buns for 48 hours getting this place spotless because you know people pass judgement about you when they see the way you live. The good news is by all accounts the owner is just refinancing and this gentleman wasn't sent over to inspect our care of the property. I am glad I cleaned because he took pictures! I would have been horrified had I left it a mess (or what I consider a mess). The good news is I moved some boxes I had been meaning to for months, and organized my closet which makes me very happy. I am taking the weekend off and warning my children that I will not clean their rooms again!
DeleteMy landlord decided to put our rental on the market. My husband was an intern and this landlord was the witch from hell. When she sent over a realtor I did not allow him to enter the property when HE wanted. Unless it was an emergency they had to give me 24 hours notice (per the rental agreement) and even then we had to agree on a suitable time. When we finally did agree I did NOT clean up one bit. I'm talking underwear every where, stinky diapers, etc. My landlord was so pissed but I did not care. She put the place on the market a few weeks after we moved in. The nerve of her to know our situation and then put the place on the market amongst other inconsiderate things. Dont sweat it. Not your problem...but of course I'm a grump and could care less what any landlord thinks of me!=(
ReplyDeleteThat happened to a friend of mine too! It was the last few months of their lease and the landlord wanted her to have the house show ready all the time just in case someone wanted to look. When it isn't your house putting forth that kind of crazy effort isn't called for, unless the owner wants to hire a cleaning lady - there isn't anything in the agreement about being clean 24/7. Every now and then I need a good excuse to clean those often neglected areas and knowing someone would be looking in every corner was just what I needed to get it done! It probably won't happen again until we are ready to move out 7 months and 30 days from now.
DeleteWe are planning on renting this next move. I am very excited about it too. After owning 3 other homes, I am glad I won't be the one who has to "fix" things when they break. But I guess I never thought about the landlord scheduling people who have to come into the house. I would be in trouble most days...ok, everyday!
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