Property Point

What do you do when someone asks to use the toilet during an open house?

If the person is asking on behalf of their small child who is bursting to go, you can’t really say no and let the poor kid wet themselves.

That request is not unusual on a busy Saturday as buyers rush from house to house and I’ve never had any dramas … when it’s been a child.

But what if it’s an adult? Well, that depends on a few things. The owners are allowing you, the agent,  to hold an open house to allow potential buyers to come and have a look at the property. They have not agreed for their home to be used as a public toilet.

You would like to think the grown-ups can plan ahead and not cut things so fine that there is an urgent need for the toilet at the open house. However, nature can call at inopportune moments.

There was one memorable occasion when the scenario played out during an open house on a busy Saturday morning.

Fortunately the sellers had moved out so it didn’t feel like the sort of invasion of a private, personal space, that it would have had the sellers still lived at the property.

The request came right at the start of the open house. There were only a couple of people there and I thought “this’ll be over and done with before the rest of the buyers arrive”. Wrong.

“Do you mind if I use the toilet?” the woman asked.

“Oh, ah yeah … sure. People will be arriving shortly but yes that should be fine,” I said a little nervously.

The toilet was in the bathroom, rather than in its own separate room, so the bathroom was off-limits until the woman had finished.

One group arrived, then a second group and then a third. It was becoming a very busy open house. A fourth group.

I looked at the bathroom door. Still closed. This was not going to be a brief interlude.

I had to try to greet people at the front door while warning others off the bathroom.

“Sorry, someone is using the bathroom at the moment.”

“Oh, really?”

Five minutes passed, then seven. I discreetly knocked: “Is everything okay?” I asked.

“Yes, thanks.”

Buyers were becoming impatient: “I really need to see the bathroom. What’s it like? Is it renovated? Has it got a separate shower?”

All reasonable questions. After 10 minutes of rushing between the front door and the bathroom door I heard a flush. Thank God for that.

Unfortunately things didn’t get any better after that. After waiting so long I knew we weren’t talking about Number Ones. And my suspicions were confirmed beyond doubt when the door opened and the woman stepped out.

Even the buyers who were most-curious about the bathroom decided they no longer cared that much. As they were leaving, I arranged some private inspections for the next day and, happily, sold the property then.

The bathroom incident was never discussed. And the small bottle of air freshener I bought later that day resides permanently in the glove box of my car. Just in case.

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