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I agree. An Open House, let alone two, is way over the top.
I've been in the "game" (buyer and seller) for 15 years (not a lot compared to some CD folks I know ) now, in TX and the Midwest, and I must say I have never been to a tenant-occupied open house! (The "open house" for RE agents is a different story.....).
I've viewed properties with tenant-occupants, but only with a scheduled appt. with a RE agent. I've been to hundreds (I'm a house geek ) of open-houses, but those were all owner-occupied or vacant.
Unless this is common in your area () I think this is huge breech of the right to quiet enjoyment.
If I were to agree to an open-house with a LL at this point in my life I would a) bill him for my time (currently $35 per hour*) for the duration of the OH b) bill him for expenses (pets boarded? movies/entertainement? meals?) and c) require professional cleaning pre and post event. If the owner and agent really want to make the sale and they think they have a viable listing on their hands, they should be ok with that. Just the cost of doing business...and probably a tax-write-off!
Cheers!
*that is my going rate as a freelance web-writer. My SO (engineer) bills at $125. If you are a M.D. or atty. that could be even higher. You get the idea....
We are entering into a lease on a home that is for sale currently (on MLS). We asked that the owner take the house off the market and they agreed (verbally). I am writing into the lease, at the advice of my Realtor (R), that the house is not on the market and before it can be placed on the market during our lease that the owner must get written consent from tenant and will provide a 20% rent discount for the duration of the property being listed for sale. I figure that if they decide to sell, when the written consent is signed, the details of showings, etc. will be drawn up. Does this sound reasonable?
Matalie, I'm wondering if the owners would be willing to give you such power. Power to determine for them when they can place their property up for sale... At the least, perhaps I'd try to see whether you can stipulate when showings can start (45 days before lease termination, or something to that extent). I'm assuming you want to start a lease soon, June or July. If the owners get it in their minds to start showing as soon as the snow thaws (like ours did), you might find yourself with 4-5 months of disruption unless you stipulate that showings can't start until mid-May-ish.
20% will not compensate enough for how much irritation you might have to contend with, especially if they assert that "we gave you a concession, now you are obligated to agree to any and everything we demand (within the bounds of the lease)".
I haven't updated this thread because I wanted wait until it was all over to comment further. Let's just say things are still ugly . Being a tenant in a house-for-sale is a crummy situation in which to be, or at least it is for us. One agent, in particular, has been a real... um, let's say she's been difficult to deal with. But, as I said before, the whole situation has been a learning opportunity. And I have a new appreciation for renters, having been out of the renting market for so long.
But yeah, I'm still a bit bitter . Good luck to you, Matalie.
I wouldn't sign it... unless I was getting above market rent with a minimum one year term from the get-go.
Most State regs have limitation on showings... such as they must be during normal business hours and proper notice must be given...
Owning and Renting each offer pluses and minuses... have you thought about buying and becoming an Owner? The inventory of homes available is at historic levels and prices in some areas are down by 60% or more...
I'm not saying you shouldn't negotiate... just don't be surprised if the answer is no
You have a lease that you agreed to that made it clear you would be expected to accomodate these showings. So you are the one being unreasonable. From the landlords perspective, by refusing to accommodate them showing the place, you are subjecting them to the financial risk of not having a buyer ready to move in when you move out. This means they loose the rent for that time period, which may very well be money they need to pay their mortgage and bills.
I'm in a similar situation which I'm worried will get ugly soon. My husband and I signed a one year lease in June of this year, and a few weeks we moved in we were asked if we could show the place for potential buyers. Two things here: 1) We weren't told the house was on the market when we signed the lease. 2) I reviewed our lease, and there's nothing in it that states we would have to end our lease early, etc. if the house was sold. Some standard note about how if the house is on the market we would allow it to be shown a reasonable number of times with proper notice...all very vague but manageable.
Trouble is, we've now been living here 2 months and had 5 showings. While this isn't much for most properties, it's a lot to me given that we weren't informed ahead of time that it was for sale, WE let the realtors and potential buyers in (not the property manager who can't be bothered to drive out here himself), and we're in this lease for another 10 months. They always give us notice before doing showings and seem to accommodate the schedules of both us and the tenants in the upstairs part of the duplex, but what's my obligation here? And what constitutes a REASONABLE number of showings? 2-3 times a month for the next 10 months is not reasonable, IMHO. And should I mention to the property manager that we wouldn't be leaving early without immense compensation? I've always been a good tenant and showing the place doesn't really bug me too much. Well, it does, but it compels me to run the vacuum and make the bed beforehand, so it's win-win. Help?
My dh got a job in another city, and lived there in a small efficiency apt for about a year while we stayed behind and tried to sell our home. finally the strain of living apart became too much and we decided to move and be together. since our house wouldn't sell, we placed it for rent. We moved out, and are currently renting a home in our new location. Our employer did pay for mving our stuff, that was it.
Well, we are currently renting our house where we now live, and our home is listed to rent. its been over a month, and no offers to rent our home. meanwhile, we pay two payments--this rent house and our mortgage for our home. I'm quite anxious our home will not rent now that school is in session. Anyone interested in a 5 bdr would be interested in the shcool year, now that it has started, our chances to rent it out are slim at best until next spring, or perhaps over Christmas break.
Meanwhile, the house we are renting has a clause that we will show it for sale the last two months of the lease, next April and May. We agreed to that, thinking at the time we would have our house rented. What a pickle we're in now.
Its quite possible our house will not rent by then, and we will be forced into showing and perhaps selling this home, then what?
Also, I'm starting to doubt the wisdom of trying to rent our home, considering how difficult it is to sell with the owners in control. If a renter is living in it, what type of impression will he make for prospective buyers? I wouldn't knock myself out to show and sell someone else's house, especially if it meant I'd have to move out---come on!
I'm thinking perhaps we made a big mistake. We were better off living in our property, that way we could keep a better eye on it and control the showings. We can always move back, but in the meantime we're stuck with this lease, what a mess!
We moved without having sold out home, and rented it out. We've found it best, though financially difficult, to put it on the market after the lease is up, so there are no tenants. As evidenced by some of the responses here, some tenants (not all) will bend over backwards to make the worst possible impression for your house. At the very least they just don't care.
Unfortunately (at least to my knowledge) there is not much that can be done.
I have been in your position in the past and even though I was quite sick and could not have showings/"stage" the house for them every few days or so the LL said he had to do them as he could not have the apartment vacant for one day.
I had to stay in bed for a while and had to put up with strangers walking into my bedroom while I was resting that wanted to "just look at the size of the bedroom" every time they decided to show up even though I was told only one day in advance. They were all apologetic for the inconvenience but would not leave without seeing every inch of the apartment...
I asked the LL if he could at least gather all showings, say, once a week, so that I could be ready for them and I was under the impression he was doing everything possible to accommodate the new tenants and could not care less about my requests, even though they were due to medical reasons, as I was about to leave.
The fact that you are a good tenant is not a plus, it is just what is expected from decent people who rent. Clean place, paying on time, etc. This is not a plus, behaving otherwise is a minus. I am not criticizing you, I am just saying it as it is. Remember I mentioned I was a tenant and not a LL in that apartment.
When I heard him saying that, even though he was well aware of my condition I understood there was not much I could do and was honestly glad I was moving out.
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) now, in TX and the Midwest, and I must say I have never been to a tenant-occupied open house! 
(The "open house" for RE agents is a different story.....).
) of open-houses, but those were all owner-occupied or vacant.
) I think this is huge breech of the right to quiet enjoyment.
. Being a tenant in a house-for-sale is a crummy situation in which to be, or at least it is for us. One agent, in particular, has been a real... 
um, let's say she's been difficult to deal with. But, as I said before, the whole situation has been a learning opportunity. And I have a new appreciation for renters, having been out of the renting market for so long.
