Dear <agent>
Here is my feedback on my showing of your listing.
Please instruct the sellers of <address> that selling a $675,000 house is far easier when more is done to restrain a rather powerful looking (and sounding) German Shepherd than having a little girl hold a breezeway door ajar while the dog barks it's ass off at us. I say this as a dog lover and the owner of a German Shepherd myself.
This was extremely disconcerting, and the minutes of confusion before the lady that I assume to be the grandmother showed up and we were told that the dog was caged were very uncomfortable; we considered walking out the rear door if we weren't still afraid the dog would be out there. I don't need to elaborate on the potential liability, nor am I interested in how docile or friendly that dog is- it was barking ferociously, and a frail old woman and little girl were an inadequate buffer.
The house seemed nice enough, but we would question the sellers' judgment and the inherent risks of doing business with them in light of this event. Too much money is at stake.
Regards
Phil Faranda
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J. Philip Serves Briarcliff Manor, Ossining, the River Towns, Westchester County, and the bedroom counties of New York City.
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Awww, is that your pooch in the pic? Beautiful.
I agree. I love my 90 lb ChowPitLab like a child but if my house was for sale we would ALL be in a rental . . . it's like family photos plastering the walls in a home, except far worse . . . pretty hard to imagine living in a place where the holy crap was frightened outta you.
Bahaha, you should make sure you CC that to the vendor and the agents broker. A very well written and eloquent response to an unnecessary situation.
Interesting situation. Not one that I had considered from the listing / selling agent standpoint.
I inspected a home once where the woman secured her rather large, protective dogs in one room. She wouldn't move them to another room so that I could inspect that room.
My report noted that I could not inspect the room because it was unsafe to enter, because of the dogs.
J Philip, I like dogs but when I'm invading their territory, they sure don't like me. Constant problem we Realtors have to face. Unnecessary though. Rich
Funny, but that is your dog isn't it? I have showed apartments where there is some strange looking farret making loud noises while we walk around the property, quite distracting, so I hear your complaint!
Sellers have go to figure out how to control their animals so that Realtors are not put at risk. I had one tenant in a condo that I was trying to show that left their 2 dogs alone in the condo for 2 weeks while they went to Japan. They had a dog walker come once a day, but the rest of the time I could not show the condo because the dogs were vicious to strangers.
I am a new dog owner. I love my chihuahua. I would not to leave him a house I was showing. I have a portable cage for when sellers have cats or small dogs. Ii has three shelves to sit on and is @ 4x3 and four feet tall. A bit tight for a German shepherd. Max is beautiful and I'm sure very well behaved.
Carol and Sweet William Roscoe Farnsworth Shelley The " Danger Dog of Del Ray "
Hey, Phil. I left a surprise for you in my blog post this morning. Let me know when you find it. What? You thought I was going to tell you exactly where it is? Ha! This comment is a clue, though.
Got here courtesy of Russel Ray - Very well written, and like most of us who have had the experience firsthand, you remember it like it was yesterday. Candice at #1 also nailed it - can't imagine owning a house where you had that experience. {subscribed}
Philip: I am a dog lover as well with 3 dogs of my own, but they are unpredictable when strangers come around. The liability is too great to have them roam freely. And, frankly, even to have them "caged" is just too distracting. Why not take them out for a ride or walk during the showing? Oh, and Russel sent me.
My GSD isn't allowed on the furniture. And I've got dozens of pictures of her snoozing on the couch to prove it.
I agree, Philip. Dogs are plenty scary when they aren't your own. And, they don't know why you are there....they are protecting their people and property.