‘I Went Through the Doggy Door.’ When Real-Estate Pros Get Locked Out of Listings

Q: Have you ever had to enter a house in an unusual way?  

Patty Vorilas, real-estate agent, Douglas Elliman Real Estate, East Islip, N.Y.

About seven years ago, I was working on my first million-dollar listing. The owners of the home, which was in Dix Hills, weren’t married but they were splitting up, so they were selling the home. The man moved out, but the woman had remained in the house with their two children. She wasn’t exactly cooperative because she didn’t want to move out of this million-dollar home. I had an appointment to show the house, and I got there early to get everything ready. When I arrived, the woman was not home, and the door was locked. I didn’t have a key, and the woman wasn’t responding to my phone calls so I frantically called the man. He gave me the garage code, which I tried several times with no luck. I started to freak out because the buyers were already on their way and were driving 45 minutes to see the house. I called my client again to let him know the garage code didn’t work. He then said, “Why don’t you go through the doggy door in the back? You’re small.” By this time, I had no choice. I was wearing a dress and heels, so I took off my shoes, got down on my knees and went through the doggy door. They have a pit-bull mix, and as I was crawling through the door, the dog was licking my face. I finally got through, opened the front door, cleaned myself up and then showed the house. Although those buyers didn’t make an offer, the house did eventually sell.