In real estate, it's non-stop doors. Whether we're opening doors, painting doors, cleaning doors, changing locks or locking doors, we deal with lotsa doors.
And then there are doggie doors.
Doggie doors come in a variety of shapes and sizes, based on the size and type an owner might need. Owners tend to put doggie doors in places that are convenient for the owner and the pet. Some have plates that slide into place to keep an animal inside. Some have bars to keep other critters in and out. For the purposes of simplicity, we'll talk about one type of doggie door, the kind with a sliding door and simple clip type lock.
I'm intimately familiar with this type of doggie door for a couple of reasons.
I'm currently working with wonderful buyers who are purchasing their first home with this type of doggie door. They also have a Ridgeback mix "puppy." This puppy is fairly large at 65 pounds so the doggie door will come in handy.
We are currently "in the inspection period." During the inspection period it's typical for me to order a home inspection, termite inspection and an energy audit.
The first inspection happened to be the energy audit. Arriving at the home I meet the energy auditors and access the lockbox. I'm surprised to learn there is no key in the lockbox. There's also a contractor box and when I shake it I hear a key rattling inside. Opening the door may not happen at this rate.
Calling the listing agent I leave a message that we are locked out of the house. I'm starting to think I just wasted an entire afternoon. Reason being that this home is an hour from my office in the far southwest corner past Maricopa County into Pinal County in the town of "Maricopa."
This "town" is on the other side of an Indian Reservation and is all freeway to get there, but it is still an hour from my office in North Scottsdale.
The energy auditing team and I start searching everywhere for an unlocked door or window, but nothing is unlocked. Then we spy the doggie door at the back of the house.
Of the two energy auditor partners, one of them is about 6'3" but also very lanky. I tell them that I know I'll fit through this door just by eyeballing it. The lanky auditor tells me, "Nah, I got this." At first the doggie door isn't going to open. But after a bit of work, he wiggles the door open and crawls through it and proceeds to let us through the back door.
We are all relieved that an entire afternoon isn't wasted, but the other part of me is hearing "alarm bells!" If he can wiggle through, so could anyone else of the same size but with a different intent.
It was far too easy to access this house for my tastes. So if you have a doggie door, make sure that a human cannot access a doggie door with ill intent, much less a small child with a pool in the backyard.
After everyone leaves, guess who crawled back through the door so the house remained locked? You but I did!
P.S. This doggie door is 12" wide and 18" tall.
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