“Don’t judge a book by its cover” is such a well-known adage it’s become a cliché. Yet, it just doesn’t seem to sink in with some people.
That seems to be the case with Stacy, an apartment rental agent who reportedly made some broad assumptions about Boston resident and apartment hunter Sofia (@sof.temp), which cost her any chance of a “fat commission check.”
Sofia documented her cringey interaction with Stacey in a video posted on her TikTok account on Jan. 25. Her story currently has 147,800 views and counting.
In the video, captioned, “Stacy I wish you monthly flat tires xoxo,” she describes arriving at an apartment tour she had scheduled days in advance. She admits she was not “looking my best” after having attended a spin class and going to brunch earlier that day.
Her appearance seemed to convince Stacy that Sofia wasn’t a desirable candidate for the apartment. “She wanted me out of there so fast,” Sofia said.
“I walk in, to which I’m greeted with, you know, Stacy going on and on about ‘I just don’t think we have anything for you’; ‘I don’t think you’ll really like any of the units ‘; ‘I don’t think this community is for you,” she continued.
“She should probably watch Pretty Woman,” Sofia told her viewers, alluding to the film’s famous scene where a chic clothing store snubs Julia Roberts’s character only to have her return later to show off the thousands of dollars she spent elsewhere.
“She looked me up and down and judged me right away,” Sofia claimed.
Even when Sofia insisted on going on the tour, Stacy was off-putting, even insisting she was not dressed warmly enough to show any units.
“Stacy, I signed up for this tour days ago, and I saw other time slots chosen on the website, so I know you’re doing more than just me today,” Sofia explained to her viewers. “Newsflash, this isn’t Florida.”
Sofia said she insisted several times she still wanted to go on the tour before Stacy finally said to her, “I just want to be fully transparent: We only accept residents who are approved, and that is based off of income.”
Stacy’s tune quickly changed when Sofia disclosed her income.
“Suddenly, I am such a good match for this community,” Sofia said.
Stacy went on to take Sofia on the tour, and her tone completely changed. “I want you to picture yourself living here,” Sofia claimed Stacy told her.
Unfortunately for Stacy, the damage was already done.
“I would rather put every dollar I’ve ever made into a paper shredder than know that it’s going onto your commission paycheck,” Sofia concluded. “You should not treat people differently based on their income, OK?”
@sof.temp Stacy I wish you monthly flat tires xoxo #bostonma #boston #newengland #bostontiktok #bostonrealestate #bostonapartment #massachusetts #southie #cambridge #seaport ♬ original sound – Sofia
Sofia’s story inspired several of her viewers to share similar frustrating apartment-hunting stories.
Emma Rowe (@emma__rowe) wrote, “When I was looking in Boston, I had a realtor who showed up to the apartment tour to a unit that he forgot he already filled and he had the audacity to tell me that he ‘didn’t think I was serious.’”
“I tried to see the apartment we put down a deposit on for 3 months, they didn’t let us see it til a week before move in. It was a smaller floor plan,” another hunter added.
“The realtor of my building refused to look or talk to me even though I made more money than my boyfriend. didn’t even shake my hand!” another viewer commented.
Fresco (@missanonymous360) wrote, “My dad makes in the high six figures and he applied in Boston apartments for my sister but he dresses ‘weird’ and is POC they treated him like crap until they saw his income.”
In the words of Julia Roberts’ Pretty Woman character, “Big mistake. Big. Huge.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to Sofia via email for further comment.
