My apartment listing was clear that all pets required approval by the Board. After I accepted the buyer's offer and stopped showing the apartment but before they signed the contract, I was told they had a dog. The rules of the building are vague when it comes to dogs, so I reached out to the Board to tell them the offer I got was for a guy with a dog...would they consider it? I go back to my broker to ask about the dog, the size, the breed, the weight. A few days later I get a response and I go back to the Board. They all OK it.
That night, I was at bookclub and my friend's husband is on the Board. The gals were asking about the progress and I told them I could move forward with this because the Board approved the dog that afternoon! One lady asked what kind of dog it was, so I responded it was a doberman-rottweiler mix. The wife of the Board member flipped out saying there was no way the dog was under 40 pounds, there is no way I can sell to these folks. The next morning, the Board rescinded their approval.
Unsatisfied with that because I want to sell the place, I ask my broker if the buyers can send a picture and something from the vet stating its size. A few days later I get this information and send to the Board asking them to but their assumptions to the side, and to review what I sent, and I am the one that suggested a 'dog interview' since the buyer insisted the dog didn't bark and was very well behaved. The Board must have deliberated this for 2-3 weeks. There was so much back and forth between them (and I president of the Board for 3 years not that long ago!) and between me.
I thought I brought up good points. As a non-dog person, dogs in the apartment bother me. The little dogs bark quite a bit, but yet, they are under the 25 pound rule. When I asked about this 25 pounds, where it says there is a weight limit...no one could find it, it was just something they felt appropriate for the size of the apartments. Understandable, but clearly not a deal breaker. So then I ask about the barkiness of the dog. Here we have a big dog that doesn't bark...are they really not going to allow that in favor of another small one that will? And what about the few people that claimed they didn't know about the dog rule and got a dog without permission, the Board allowed them to keep it! And here we have someone following the rules, what happens if he didn't, would he have been allowed to keep it if no one complained? And lastly they were concerned about the breed. A stereotype indeed. Not all dogs of a certain breed behaved the same way. Meet the dog, you'll get a good idea of its personality. Like I said, I had these conversations over and over again for weeks.
Finally, it was decided one Board member would meet the dog. A day/time was set. I happened to follow up and was told the day/time was for that evening...hmm, did they call the buyer? They don't have the information. Woops, the Board forgot to check his schedule! So we had to reschedule for the following week.
It was a March Madness game night. I told the buyer to come 10 minutes early or so, so the dog could get familiar with the apartment prior to the interview. Last thing I wanted was for it to bark or jump because of the new surroundings. The buyer and his real estate agent arrived 30 minutes early. Now, I am not a small talk person. But here we all are in my apartment and I tried hard to make them feel comfortable. The dog was unbelievably well behaved. Not one peep or jump or anything. It made me consider for a moment that having a dog like that would be a great thing.
Eventually the Board member showed up. He was the most resistant to allowing the dog but yet, he also had a non-barking bigger dog so I was not sure why he was so against this. He was in the apartment for all of 5 minutes. Met the dog asked a few question to the owner. Then left.
The buyer and the agent must have felt comfortable enough because they said another 15 minutes.
A hurdle was overcome. A three to four week delay...but now things could start to move along. Now we can sign the contract.
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