The room went dead silent. A fork clattered onto a plate. The father stood up immediately, putting himself between me and the kids, looking terrified but defensive.
“Excuse me?” he said, his voice shaking. “Who are you? We rented this place for the week.”
My stomach dropped. “Rented? This is my house. I live here. I didn’t rent it to anyone.”
The mother pulled out her phone, scrolling frantically. “No, look,” she said, holding the screen up to my face. “We booked it on the app. The host gave us the code to the lockbox.”
I looked at the screen. There were photos of my living room, my kitchen, even my bedroom. And right there, listed as the “Superhost,” was Sarah—my neighbor.
I felt the blood boil in my veins. She hadn’t just watered my plants; she had listed my entire home as a vacation rental the second I left for the airport.
“Pack your things,” I told the family, trying to keep my voice steady. “I’m not mad at you, but you have to leave. Now. The police are on their way.”
While the confused and angry family started throwing food back into coolers, I marched next door and pounded on Sarah’s door.
She opened it with a smile that vanished the second she saw my face.
“You’re back early!” she squeaked, trying to block the doorway.
“You rented my house out to strangers, Sarah? seriously?”
“Look,” she stammered, “You were going to be gone for a month! It was just sitting there empty! I figured we could split the money, I was going to tell you when you got back, I swear!”
I didn’t want to hear it. I held up my phone where 911 was already dialing.
The Aftermath: The police arrived and it was a mess. The family had to go to a hotel (which Sarah ended up having to pay for after they threatened to sue her). I pressed charges for fraud and trespassing.
It turns out she had made over $3,000 renting my place out over the last two weeks while I was grinding at work.
I changed my locks that night. I still live there, but now I have a security system, cameras, and I don’t trust anyone with a spare key. Not even the “nice” neighbor next door.
