Prospective renter nearly signed the lease — until he realized the owner wanted him to pay $3,000 to take care of her two cats

A person (u/reasonable_car_1746 on Reddit) looking for an apartment in San Francisco came across a property on Furnished Finder. Curious, they texted the flat owner, only to realize the entitled landlord wanted renters to pay over $3,000 to watch her two cats. The potential tenant posted the bizarre story on April 8. 

The person was scrolling through Furnished Finder, a popular housing site, when they stumbled upon an attractive deal. The landlord was charging $3k per month with an additional $250 cleaning fee. Although the rent was a bit high, the potential tenant was okay since their company was paying for it. Before locking in the deal, they contacted the landlord, who responded with a very unusual question. "Do you like animals?" she asked, before sharing that she had two Persian cats that the tenant has to look after in her absence.

Upon further discussion, the prospective tenant learned that the landlady was going on a vacation and wanted someone to babysit her cats. Surprisingly, she didn't want to pay for cat sitters, so she decided to sublet her place for a month. "I told her that her listing should be on TrustedHousesitters or a similar service where people stay somewhere for free in exchange for animal care," they recalled, but the landlady immediately blocked them.

Frustrated with the entitled behavior, the potential tenant reported her to the website, which ultimately asked her to modify her listing. "...but it's still up...still over 3k. Insane," they added. Moreover, the potential renter clarified that it was a one-bedroom apartment without even basic amenities, such as a dishwasher or laundry facility. "I checked local rents, and the average for a comparable apartment in that area is like 2.5-3k. So it seems like she is trying to subsidize her entire rent (if not even make some money)," the person shared.

A report by Global Newswire found that one in three tenants fall victim to 'fake' listings on housing sites. Although rental scams saw a slight decrease in 2025, on average, people lost more money per scam than previously reported. In 2023, while victims lost about $1,706.82, by 2025, the amount had increased by 21% (approx. $2,071). The report also found that close to half (43%) of victims of rental scams couldn't recover their money. The unfortunate trend suggests scammers put effort into making their scams look real. Not only do they use real addresses, but they also create fake documents and high-quality pictures to lure victims.

Meanwhile, reacting to the Reddit post, u/genb123 commented, "I could maybe understand an arrangement of you paying the utilities for that month since you're using them and if you break anything, you buy it, but otherwise you get the place for free as long as you take care of the cats. But paying her 3k to be there and take care of her cats plus a 250 cleaning fee is insane." Similarly, u/wobblemint wrote, "That's absolutely wild. So basically, she wants you to pay $3k+ for the privilege of being her live-in, unpaid cat sitter. And a $250 cleaning fee on top? For her cats?"

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