Fair housing made my day. The testers are just hysterical at this point. A man dressed like a lady shows up to look at a tiny 1BR .Sorry, but a lady with a full beard attracts attention. Didn’t bother me a bit until the questions started. First question she asks is “Do you rent to families with children?” ABSOLUTELY!!! Then they make a comment that I must not have many families with children because the property does not have much of a yard. Said she had several minority disabled children. That’s when I knew it was definitely a tester situation. Why throw all the protected classes in? I explain that there is a park “ right around the corner” and we should check it out for the children’s sake. To me ( very athletic) “ right around the corner is about 1/2 mile. Miss Tester doesn’t appear to be very athletic but is wearing brand new running shoes and obviously has a different interpretation of “ right around the corner”. Took me up on the offer to walk over there. I broke into a steady jog just to see if Miss Tester’s wig was glued on or pinned on. Neighbors didnt know what was going on and thought I was being chased by Rosie O’Donnell. I told them I met her on Match.com. Anyway, wig didn’t stay on and Miss Tester left real angry. I almost hope they call me on it because I want to read the report. Best. Day. Ever.

Rents,

That is HILARIOUS!!

You made MY day too!

His/her comment about minority children is race ism. But I understand why it was said - to trigger your incorrect response.

I'd LOVE to see the report on that visit. "This LL is CRAZY. Tighten your wig before testing!"

Funny story for sure, but it came at a price.

What did you gain by this encounter, other than some chuckles?

Nothing.

What did you "pay" for it?

1) Wasted time. This person would never rent from you.

2) Risk exposure. You managed not to say the wrong thing... this time.

3) A possible enemy at FH. As you said, he/she (whatever) left upset. Possibly with a vendetta against you.

This is the Govt you're dealing with: nothing is ever "free" from them.

I urge strongly to consider "all calls go to voice mail." Let them test the LLs who answer phones and show up in person. Let them get chatty with folks who like to self-incriminate. For this as well as many other reasons, please consider valuing your time and business with less interaction until you are more certain of who and what you're dealing with.

Sid - I'm not sure if I have mentioned this before but be careful about "all calls go to voicemail"... here's why:

A few years ago one of my collegues in our office was HORRIBLE with returning calls (didn't matter who it was, honestly - she just didn't do it). She was an owner of rental property as well as a property manager of others. I don't know what really happened since I wasn't privy to the entire situation but she basically did not return "multiple calls" to her from this person wanting to view/rent an apartment from her. They filed a discrimination suit against her and took her to court. THEY WON because the courts saw that she was discriminating against them BECAUSE she didn't return their calls.

That was funny.