from: October 1, 2018
Latch Key Dogs in Key West
Unlike many places across the United States, most houses and condos in
Key West are shown by the listing agent instead of by accessing a lock
box. This is both a tradition and a necessity as Key West many if not
most listings here are viewed as both special and may also be tenant
occupied. Special listings can be either very expensive homes that
require strict control as to who goes inside or making sure that a
potential buyer does not get injured while viewing a house in need of
repair.
But all rules have exceptions including the house on Watson Street I
showed several years ago. I remember the day and circumstance quite
well. The listing agent told me she could not be present. The house was
on lock box. She gave me the combination and said the tenant's dog would
be in the house. The dog was tame and would not be a problem. It was
probably winter as I noticed the light in the living room was turned on.
I knocked on the door thinking the tenant was home. No answer. I opened
the lock box, retrieved the key, and unlocked the door. I announced
myself "Realtor". No answer. I beckoned my customer to follow me inside
whereupon I saw a big done sitting on the sofa watching her afternoon
soap opera (or Oprah or whatever) on the television. The dog did some
cute dog thing. The buyer probably gushed and talked baby talk. We
moved from room to room and then let the dog go back to its television.
(I borrowed the black and white photo above, but it clearly represents
what happened on the day I showed the house on Watson.)
This was not a one-time phenomenon. Another time the listing agent who
was also the owner of the property I was showing gave me the lock box to
his house. He said his two dogs would be present and not to mind them -
they were harmless despite their size. Sure enough they were home
guarding the bedroom. I couldn't get them to move. They sniffed and
checked us out then plopped their big behinds in front of the door just
to make sure we behaved.
The exception occurred a few years earlier while I was showing a tenant
occupied condo on the eastern end of Key West. My buyers and I went
inside a two story condo without incident. The tenant's dog yipped as we
walked about. My buyers descending the stairs without incident. I
trailed behind, locked the door, and headed toward my car when my buyer
said "Gary, you're bleeding". Apparently the little dog snapped at me
and bit my ankle. I am glad he was small and not a German
Shepherd - that would have hurt.
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