We found this Airbnb two blocks away from our home and thought it would be helpful to be close to our house, while we sold it. The online description stated that it was pet friendly and that it comes "with shaded patio for barbeque among raised bed herb and vegetable gardens and lawn in a private gated yard." We booked it for 41 days.
Yard
When we arrived the yard was in total disrepair. There was no grass. It was unsuitable for pets because it was filled with dirt, weeds, foxtails and burrs that became imbedded in our dog’s fur – the one and only time we allowed them off leash in the yard. Additionally, there was trash and discarded furniture, metal and glass everywhere in the front, side and back yard. As we walked in along the driveway there was a rusted pitchfork facing up with a rusted shovel along side of it on a bench.
After two weeks Carol had a gardener attend to the yard but all that they did was mow the weeds in the backyard and clear out some of the weeds in the front yard. The trash and unsafe items remained. She has a gazebo that we were told we could use, but when she showed it to us, unzipping the cover, it was full of rat droppings and was completely unfit to use. It remained that way our entire stay. After the gardeners worked that one-day, the parking strip had two broken beer bottles in it that had previously been covered with weeds. We texted Carol about them but they remained.
Rats
The front door had at least a one-inch gap at the bottom, as there was no door sweep on it. After walking outside in the late afternoon on the first day, and seeing at least eight rats scurry out from a bush in different directions right in front of our path we knew there were considerable rats in the yard. So we pushed a rug of ours in front of the door every night to prevent intrusion of such creatures. We constantly saw rats in the yard and in the garage at all times of day and night. We finally texted Carol to give her notice about the rats.
The next morning we found rat droppings throughout the kitchen, laundry area, living room and bedroom. Items had fallen from a low shelf in the kitchen as the rats had moved through the area. Our dogs did not alert us to this because they were crated. We decided that we could not stay for the duration of our reservation and moved out that day. We had 12 days left of our intended stay. That afternoon, we took a break to get dinner and when we came back to finish getting the last of our items out, the rats had returned and eaten part of a pear, in a bowl, on the dining room table. We moved into a local hotel. We are still attempting to get a refund for the 12 days we did not stay.
Electrical
The first night we found the light in the closet, the lights next to the bed and the light in the fridge all not working. Carol gave us a bulb for the fridge and worked with the lights on the sides of the bed until they worked. Two weeks in, an electrician arrived to assess what the closet light needed and never returned to repair it. It was determined that it needed a new socket but if we bent it in one direction it sometimes went on, sometimes not. Carol seemed to think this would work for us.
House
The back doorknob began to fall off one day and when we texted Carol she came to repair it, which after two attempts was successful, however the doorknob was very hard to turn after this repair.
Mold
The closet smelled of mold but we did not mention this to Carol, as there were so many other issues with the place. There is a small window in the closet and we kept it open but even with that, the mold was easy to smell.
Carbon Monoxide
The carbon monoxide detector went off twice, and the second time she acted on it, getting the gas company to check for any dangerous issues. They determined it was a faulty detector. But instead of going out and getting one right away she said she would contact Airbnb and that they would send one. It did not arrive while we were there.
Sanitation
One day there was dog poop from her dog in the yard, on the sidewalk outside of our front door. We asked her to clean it up. She told us that she has a young woman to clean up dog waste for her and that she would take care of it. Two days later it was cleaned up. However a week or so after that, it happened again. We stepped over it rather than ask once more for it to be taken care of.
Carol is a very nice person and attempted to respond to our needs but for us the yard situation, the numerous issues and the rats made our stay most unpleasant, to put it mildly.