u/baberuthless00

Renters: I’d really like your perspective on something that’s been bothering me as a property manager

I work in property management for predominantly single family homes, and we’re being asked to start showing occupied rental homes to prospective tenants before the current tenant has moved out.

As a property manager, this makes me uncomfortable for several reasons, but I’m especially interested in hearing this from the renter’s perspective because I’ve never personally experienced this as a renter.

My biggest concern is that we would essentially be bringing strangers into someone’s private home simply because the owner wants to minimize vacancy.

I understand that reasonable notice would be given, and I understand the business reason behind wanting to find the next tenant quickly. But I still have concerns about what it feels like for the person who actually lives there.

A stranger could potentially be walking through their bedrooms, looking at their belongings, seeing medications, valuables, children’s things, personal documents, etc. They could potentially take pictures or videos, accidentally or intentionally damage something, or even use the showing to get an idea of the home’s layout and what is inside.

There are also situations that worry me that I hadn’t really considered until now. What if someone requesting a showing happens to be an abusive ex-partner, someone the tenant has a protection order against, or simply someone who makes the tenant uncomfortable? As the property manager, we may have no idea who that person is or what connection they have to the tenant.
Then there’s the possibility of theft or someone returning later after seeing the home and knowing what is inside.

From the employee side, I’m also uncomfortable being alone in an occupied home with a complete stranger. Most of our staff are women, and the possibility of sexual assault or physical violence is a very real concern for us. There have unfortunately been documented cases of real estate agents being assaulted, robbed, and killed during property showings.

But I don’t want to look at this solely from the property manager’s perspective.
I want to hear from renters who have actually experienced this.
If you’ve lived in an occupied rental while your landlord, property manager, or leasing agent brought prospective tenants through your home, I’d genuinely like to hear what that experience was like.
Did you feel comfortable with it? Did you feel like your privacy was respected? Were there things prospects did that made you uncomfortable? Did anyone take pictures, touch your belongings, open cabinets or closets, or otherwise cross a boundary?
Have you ever had a showing where something happened that made you feel unsafe or uneasy?

Even if nothing serious happened, I’d be interested in hearing about the smaller things that made you think, “I really don’t like strangers being in my home.”
I’m not trying to argue that occupied-home showings should never happen. I’m trying to understand the renter’s perspective before we potentially make this a regular practice.
If you’ve experienced this, I’d really appreciate hearing your personal experiences. I’m also interested in documented cases involving theft, harassment, assault, privacy violations, or other problems resulting from occupied-home showings.

Property managers/leasing agents, especially women: I need your perspective on showing occupied homes

I work in property management, and our owner is pushing us to begin showing occupied rental homes to prospective tenants, including people who have not applied or been screened.
Initially, we agreed that occupied homes would only be shown after an application was approved. The owner is now wanting us to show them to essentially anyone interested because he doesn’t want to lose a month of rent while waiting for the current tenant to move out.

I have three major concerns:

1. Employee safety
Most of our management staff are women, and this was never a responsibility when we were hired. We would potentially be entering an occupied home and walking through the entire property alone with a stranger whose identity and background we don’t know.
I’m not talking about being uncomfortable. I have a legitimate fear of sexual assault or physical violence. There are documented cases of real estate agents being robbed, assaulted, and murdered while conducting showings.
I also don’t think my male boss necessarily views the risk the same way female employees do. For women, the possibility of being alone in a basement, bedroom, garage, etc. with an unknown man is a very real safety concern.

2. Tenant privacy and security
The tenant’s home contains their personal belongings, medications, documents, valuables, children’s belongings, etc. How do we prevent theft or someone using the showing to “case” the property?
What if the person requesting the showing is an abusive ex-partner or someone the tenant has a protection order against? We wouldn’t necessarily know that connection.
There’s also the possibility of prospects taking pictures/videos of the tenant’s belongings, damaging something, or returning later after seeing the home’s layout and security.

3. The additional workload
This isn’t really a 30-minute showing. We’d have to coordinate with the tenant, provide notice, schedule around their availability, travel to the property, potentially verify IDs, supervise the prospect through the entire home, prevent photos/videos, and make sure the property is secured afterward.
If multiple people want to see the home, I don’t feel comfortable having unrelated prospects walking through an occupied tenant’s home together.
Our jobs already involve managing current tenants, move-outs, inspections, vendors, make-readies, applications, and vacant-home showings. This would be an entirely additional responsibility.
I’m not saying occupied homes can never be shown. I’m trying to figure out what reasonable safety procedures look like.
For those of you who actually do this:
Do you require an application or screening first?
Do you verify government-issued ID?
Does another employee accompany the person showing the home?
Would it be reasonable for a female employee to request a second employee or maintenance person accompany her?
Does your company provide self-defense training or other safety resources?
Do you have a written policy for showing occupied homes?
Can employees refuse a showing if they feel unsafe?
How do you protect the tenant’s belongings and privacy?
Are prospects allowed to take photos/videos?
Have you or your tenants experienced theft, harassment, threats, assault, or property damage from a showing?

I’d especially like to hear from women in property management, leasing, or real estate. What safeguards does your company use, and what would you consider a reasonable request from employees being asked to take on this responsibility?
I’m also looking for documented examples of crimes or other incidents involving real estate/leasing agents or occupied homes being shown. I’d like to understand the actual risks and bring some objective information back to my employer rather than relying solely on my personal concerns.

I work in property management, and our owner is pushing us to begin showing occupied rental homes to prospective tenants, including people who have not applied or been screened.
Initially, we agreed that occupied homes would only be shown after an application was approved. The owner is now wanting us to show them to essentially anyone interested because he doesn’t want to lose a month of rent while waiting for the current tenant to move out.

I have three major concerns:
1. Employee safety
Most of our management staff are women, and this was never a responsibility when we were hired. We would potentially be entering an occupied home and walking through the entire property alone with a stranger whose identity and background we don’t know.
I’m not talking about being uncomfortable. I have a legitimate fear of sexual assault or physical violence. There are documented cases of real estate agents being robbed, assaulted, and murdered while conducting showings.
I also don’t think my male boss necessarily views the risk the same way female employees do. For women, the possibility of being alone in a basement, bedroom, garage, etc. with an unknown man is a very real safety concern.

2. Tenant privacy and security
The tenant’s home contains their personal belongings, medications, documents, valuables, children’s belongings, etc. How do we prevent theft or someone using the showing to “case” the property?
What if the person requesting the showing is an abusive ex-partner or someone the tenant has a protection order against? We wouldn’t necessarily know that connection.
There’s also the possibility of prospects taking pictures/videos of the tenant’s belongings, damaging something, or returning later after seeing the home’s layout and security.

3. The additional workload
This isn’t really a 30-minute showing. We’d have to coordinate with the tenant, provide notice, schedule around their availability, travel to the property, potentially verify IDs, supervise the prospect through the entire home, prevent photos/videos, and make sure the property is secured afterward.
If multiple people want to see the home, I don’t feel comfortable having unrelated prospects walking through an occupied tenant’s home together.
Our jobs already involve managing current tenants, move-outs, inspections, vendors, make-readies, applications, and vacant-home showings. This would be an entirely additional responsibility.
I’m not saying occupied homes can never be shown.
I’m trying to figure out what reasonable safety procedures look like.
For those of you who actually do this:

Do you require an application or screening first?
Do you verify government-issued ID?
Does another employee accompany the person showing the home?
Would it be reasonable for a female employee to request a second employee or maintenance person accompany her?
Does your company provide self-defense training or other safety resources?
Do you have a written policy for showing occupied homes?
Can employees refuse a showing if they feel unsafe?
How do you protect the tenant’s belongings and privacy?
Are prospects allowed to take photos/videos?
Have you or your tenants experienced theft, harassment, threats, assault, or property damage from a showing?

I’d especially like to hear from women in property management, leasing, or real estate. What safeguards does your company use, and what would you consider a reasonable request from employees being asked to take on this responsibility?
I’m also looking for documented examples of crimes or other incidents involving real estate/leasing agents or occupied homes being shown. I’d like to understand the actual risks and bring some objective information back to my employer rather than relying solely on my personal concerns.

Today my maintenance man came over to work on a few things. When he came in, he got to my pits level and pet her a little while she barked at him. A minute later we went outside so I could show him what needs fixed and I come back in 5 minutes later to a pile of poop on the floor.

After I cleaned it up, I realized this is a pattern. A man comes into my home whether it’s maintenance, my neighbor, and once a friend and if I don’t invite her outside with me or she doesn’t have her eyes on me the whole time I come back in to her having peed or pooped in my home even when I have JUST taken her out to go potty.

It is super frustrating that I deal with this (5 times now that I can recall) and I’m curious if anyone else has a dog that does this? She is uncomfortable around men in general and then coming into the home, and so I’m unsure if this is an anxiety response that’s common or what? It seems spiteful but can dogs really even be spiteful? She is fine once I come back in with the maintenance man, the excessive barking stops.

I shouldn’t have to invite my dog outside with me every time but I want her to not do this behavior.

In a few weeks my sister in law and brother are going out of state for a surgery and need someone to watch their kids for the time being. So they will be staying with me and I want to ensure that they have a good time so I’m hoping someone can shed some ideas on what is fun for an 8 yr old boy and 11 year old girl.

I’m not completely clueless when it comes to children I promise, as I used to be a nanny and I am very close to my sisters younger children. I just kind of find it harder to entertain older children as easily and I would love some educational activities too.

The last time I had an “aunt day” with my brothers kids I took them to a few plant shops and we did yard work and potted pretty flowers they named after Stranger Things characters. They really enjoyed this with me but I don’t want to make the entire time being outdoor labor but I know the kids like to trouble shoot and help out.

I was thinking a drive in movie night one evening, swimming, going to a park, taking them to work with me (all the niblings tend to have a fascination of going to work with me bc my job is flexible), but I’m hoping for some critical thinking, educational type activities that are age appropriate.

Hey!

Looking for online friends that could eventually lead to in person, but I want to ensure we have lots of similar interests first and good stimulating conversation.

I’m a F, in my 20’s and child free. I feel like I relate most to people with a good sense of humor, that are kind to animals and children, ambitious, like to be out of the house, and try new things. I think I identify as moderate with both liberal and conservative values (probably a little more conservative) I find it hard to find others IRL that aren’t totally nuts on one end of the spectrum.

Likes:
Collecting, thrifting, gardening, helping others, genuine meaningful conversations, museums, America, events around town, farmers markets, animals, learning about other cultures, music, true crime, rom coms, trying new foods, learning about history, naps.

Dislikes:
Glass tables, people who talk on speakerphone in public, cancel culture, buff male kangaroos, watermelon, people who let their dogs off leash, “how are you” texts. video game addicts, yellow paint on cars (that specific yellow is hideous!!!).

If you have read along this far and feel like we relate shoot me a message and tell me what we have in common and any summer plans or goals you have.

A few days ago I took away my cats water fountain to clean it and realized I didn’t have more filters so for the time being I just gave her a regular water bowl daily. She hates this and prefers the moving water and any other source of water like drops of water from my shower and from the toilet. She meows incessantly day in and out for water.

I finally got her fountain filter and put it back together but she’s still meowing so annoyingly. She was thrilled at first when I brought it to her but still not happy as I think she’s gotten used to sneaking to the toilet for water. I don’t want her to have this habit as she should use her fountain.

The last time this happened it took a few days for everything to go back to normal and the constant meowing to stop but I feel like it’s taking longer this time and it’s overstimulating, especially considering she is not a very vocal cat.

I am always paranoid and want to make sure I’m not missing anything so I was wondering if anyone else has had a similar issue and if it’s something to worry about or if like last time it’ll eventually stop? I take her to her water bowl each morning, I love on her, I give her wet food and dry food daily. She does not seem injured, I’ve checked her body. She uses the litter robot as normal.

Wanting to know if this is just a me situation or if others are experiencing this too as all of my friends are married and not dealing with this.

I have become grossed out by the art of kissing due to men’s poor hygiene. I’ve been yucked out so much that I’m starting to view making out as gross and I HATE that. Making out is so wonderful!!!

I’d say I’m great about my maintaining clean hygiene, ESPECIALLY if I’m about to go on a date or be intimate but it seems it’s not the same thing for men. More often than I would have liked to have experienced it seems like men aren’t holding up their end of being clean.

The other day I went on a date and in photos his teeth looked okay, but when I saw him they were yellow but not plaqueyy but still looks like a good brush could really help. I tried to write it off as a one time thing even though I just can’t imagine going on a date and not being your best but whatever. Anyways a few days later he asks about my morning routine and I ask his where he tells me that he doesn’t brush his teeth in the morning but instead at lunch and before bed. I’m having a hard time believing this. Unfortunately from those comments he made and what is I saw, I gotta let this guy go bc I’m not in the business of telling men how to keep clean.

I find usually men in their 20’s aren’t brushing regularly and let plaque build up and that men 30’s and older just either have tonsil stones or halitosis.
Again, it’s not ALL men, but enough that it’s been concerning enough for me to make a post asking about others experiences. If you’re dealing with this how are you handling it? Writing them off? Or letting them know they need to work on their hygiene? The dating pool here is getting slimmer and slimmer. 😭