A Learning Experience? Weird sit, illegal tenant in garage

Sitter Questions, Advice & Chat
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Second sit. Many weird things.

Cute little beach town, desirable location.

Video chat beforehand, all seemed NORMAL.

One cat, nice enough, fluffy and friendly. But come to find that the owner leaves the back door to her bedroom open so the cat can come and go as it pleases, sometimes out all night. (So much anxiety the first night…. Is the cat coming back? Should I worry about the cat coming back? Did the cat come in while we were sleeping? ) She left extra rags in the kitchen “in case she brings a friend home.” Ew.

Listen people leave their cats out, I get it, but (as mentioned in the title) next time I will ASK.

Cat is fed on kitchen counter. Ew. Don’t come at me if you like feeding cats on your counter, to me its a OH NO. Next time I will ask.

The rusty “Bless our Home” sign, the ripped and torn and rusty patio furniture on the back deck.

Kitchen has not been updated since circa 1984 which is fine and could be “vintage” but everything is dirty and broken.Ew. She said “oh I don’t use my dishwasher (I am an environmentalist!) and if you leave dirty dishes totally ok by me ( we are here five days!) but dishwasher clearly broken. Dishwasher door held up by an open drawer. Close the drawer and dw door slams open. “Don’t bother with the sheets, I will wash!” HO says ( Washer and Dryer broken)

Bathroom off the bedroom is not only dated and weird but has filthy filthy filthy toilet. I suspect it is broken. Ewwww

Bathroom in the hallway clean and fresh fluffy towels. Lovely welcome box with fresh shampoo etc! Nice!

Wifi doesnt work (whole point of working from home to be with aforementioned cat (who is out killing things all day and night) lost. Sweet little library with wifi and snacks 4 blocks away. Nice!

Oh wait, did I mention that after accepting sit (video chat, all seemed NORMAL) I get WG which reveals that THERE IS SOMEONE WHO LIVES IN THE ATTACHED WINDOWLESS GARAGE. Eek

I know times are tough and people have trouble finding a place to live but a person living in the windowless garage 20 feet away from where you are staying is so weird. This is a single garage space, not a double wide. And, by the way, illegal ( I read the local regulation because it was so obviously illegal I just wanted to confirm). The tenant is in the garage. What? Is he there now? No way of knowing. No car appears to be attributable to him, but gate to backyard we closed (see Cat above to goes out all night) now open. Was it the cat? Was it the tenant?

I will ask more questions. I will confirm my requirements, I will not trust everything I read from other reviewers (TWO WEEKS AGO *****House is Amazing! Five Stars!) Maybe the last reviewer was the tenant? Maybe he was happy to have the extra space (and a toilet?? )

Edited to remove personal information

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That I have had too! And I absolutely agree with you. I mentioned it in my review of that HO.

The rest I am glad that I have not encountered. Terrible!

Were there any missing reviews? (You can only see that in the app, not in the web interface.)

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@annabee187 When you found out from WG about person living in garage did you ask the host more questions?

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I will check missing reviews, I’m new to this- thanks for the tip!

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I hate to say it, but maybe Housesitting is not for you.
There are always so many unknown variables to a person’s house, cleaning habits, etc. I’ve definitely encountered some strange and yucky things while sitting, but I don’t think it’s fair to judge people or not allow them to be on the site. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.
I’ve also had the “tenant on the property” discovery last minute and while it seemed creepy, it was never an issue. The same could happen in an Air BnB ( or in the US, a cheap hotel with homeless in the hallways)

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Totally uncalled for!

The conditions on this sit are really not acceptable. The sitter can clearly make the case that she would be at liberty to leave.

It is such HOs that should not be on the site.

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So I guess you did not say anything in your review. And gave those five stars. And let the next sitter deal with the surprise.

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You say that the dishwasher, Washer & Dryer are broken and that the Wi-Fi doesn’t work . This is a big issue if they were all included in the amenities section of the listing .

You can ask host to get Wi-Fi repaired immediately as you need to work from home - (which presumably the owner was aware of and had been discussed with homeowner before accepting the sit )

Take photos of all the broken appliances , a screenshot of the listing including the amenities section .

Include all of this information about the broken and dirty items in your review deducting stars for cleanliness, hospitality and accurate listing as appropriate.

You could also raise a member dispute if you wish to .

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I disagree with your position! Sitters and HOs are allowed to have standards and ask questions and accept situations that don’t suit them. I’m not desperate for a free place to stay, perhaps you are, and therefore no need for me to put up with things I would care not to.
My last sit was lovely, I suspect my next one will be too.
My point is simply that I’ve learned that I need to ask questions! If you feel totally fine with an illegal tenant living in a windowless garage while you are somewhere that’s great for you! If you want to cook on a kitchen counter shared with cats have at it! If you don’t think promised WiFi should work, you’ll never be disappointed!

Edited to comply with posting guidelines

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But maybe the problem is that the subscription of the internet provider had not been paid for a while.

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Should have said “fixed “
whether that’s pay the bill or other - if it’s listed as an amenity it should be provided .
Owner is responsible for getting it sorted .

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@annabee187 I don’t know if you were a member BEFORE the new review system was initiated, but now that Sitters have the opportunity to rate Owners on various specific categories, I hope that Sitters will be better able to avoid these situations.

This all depends, of course, on Sitters leaving honest Reviews!!

I have been in homes that are DATED, but still very well-maintained, clean, and in working order. DATED alone does not bother me.

I can only imagine that your commentary above is just “scraping the surface,” and there are probably 20 other issues that you did not mention!

Thankfully it was a relatively short Sit. Ugh. Sorry this happened to you!

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My comment was mostly about cleanliness, the habit of feeding the cat in the counter, the cat going in and out and hunting. This we cannot make universal, so we go with the habits of the homeowner.

I think if something is in the Welcome Guide or listing, it doesn’t really need to be mentioned in a review. For the “tenant”, the homeowner didn’t feel the need to mention it in the listing but it would be appropriate to suggest that they add it for the future.
As far as a broken appliance, I’d say it depends on the situation. I’ve arrived at a sit and the washer just broke, won’t be fixed or replaced for over a week, but that doesn’t make it unlivable. If WiFi doesn’t work, I’d ask why and see if it could be fixed. The sitter didn’t mention asking about getting something fixed or troubleshooting the wifi.

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Please ensure you leave a factual unemotional review. Best to leave out how it made you feel, just state the facts and rate accordingly.

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In case my message was lost, my point - as a new sitter on TH- was that I learned I need to ask questions and make sure a sit is right for me.
It’s not about requiring new things universally.

  1. The habits of other people/their choices with their pets that I find gross or unappealing I don’t need to deal with if I don’t want to, others can if they so choose. I’m not saying they should be chastised, I’m saying I should ask questions to see if it’s the right fit. I am coming from a place of caring, it made me anxious worrying about the cat. It concerned me leaving the door open all night/when we were out so the cat could come back. It doesn’t make me incapable of house sitting to have ideas about what I will and will not deal with.
  2. The HO was being deceptive about things that did not work/were broken in the house. I have had to have an appliance replaced, I understand and I’ve lived through days/weeks without, but don’t mislead me.
  3. I am not opposed to dated furnishings or appliances, I was trying to paint a picture of the overall scene;
  4. I think a garage dwelling illegal tenant is an issue that would cause me to change my mind about the quality of a sit and make me not want to do it, and should be part of the initial listing. I generally don’t stay in “cheap motels with homeless people in the hall” as mentioned by one commenter. I think many people would agree that it’s not a situation they’d choose. If you’re cool with it, your choice!
  5. of course tried to trouble shoot the WiFi, I plugged, unplugged, rebooted, asked HO, I suspect the HO was being deceptive and modem either broken or bill unpaid;
  6. I would only be factual and kind in any review, I think the cat and HO seemed very nice but the reviews not correct/honest.
  7. There was a lot more that was broken and shabby and overall, the listing was not accurate.
  8. I found a lovely public library and WiFi so I could work, the fact that the tvs didn’t work as promised didn’t matter to me, and am lucky enough to be able to afford to eat out and not use the kitchen, which I found thoroughly unpleasant.

Thank you to those who made helpful and productive comments

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Good on you for being honest and sharing your experience, we reckon your approach is spot on! It sounds pretty uncomfortable to be honest and the illegal tenant thing would have 100% freaked us out. Definitely breaking Ts & Cs. Wishing you much better sits in the future #thanksforsharing

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Please do write an honest review for sitters like me who would be horrified by the house… I’m ok with hunting cats (not so much with feeding cats on counters but if that’s its habit I’d simply work around it and use chopping boards for food prep etc). Well done for coping and working out a plan for the future… my first sit gave me an additional question to ask HOs in the future that I’d not considered before. Best wishes

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Where I was, this was not really possible. I could not stop the cats from coming into the kitchen, and when I tried to make a sandwich they would jump on the kitchen counter.

All cupboards were really full, the only place where I could keep bread etc protected from the pets (the dog was just as bad) was in the oven and the microwave.

I was eating out and/or just heating up things. So yeah, “use of kitchen” was rather limited. The HO had a kitchen upstairs where they did the real cooking but I did not have access to that.

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I should have, I did not. I was caught off guard. I certainly will next time!

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I read somewhere in this forum to put tin foil on the counters to inhibit cats from jumping on them….I’ve never tried this myself though.

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