Because apparently that varies in different places. Where I live, no one would ever refer to “their side” - the sort of setup I think you are describing is two separate houses on two separate lots here. In some other places, it’s usually one house on a single lot with a single owner - basically a two family house with the units next to each other instead of one on top of the other. In which case one unit is typically rented.
Where I live, most duplexes are rentals. The owner might live in one unit, but usually not. It’s a reasonable assumption, except I notice now that your OP stated you were both owners.
This really makes me think that they’re doing vigilante enforcement of what they see as the “right” way for your house to look. I would stand by my statement that the solution is to tell them that the door-knockers are their own problem. A diplomatic way to handle it would be to get a “no soliciting” sign and advise your neighbor to do the same.
As I stated later in the thread, I asked them how these people were getting in contact with them and they told me that they happened to be walking by when they were outside, not that they knocked on their door.
The details are irrelevant to the point I’m trying to express, which is that this is their problem, not yours, and you should feel free to tell them that.
I was attempting to be helpful and contrive a diplomatic excuse for you, but given that you want to nitpick my every utterance, I don’t think I care about this anymore.
And apparently, these are people that walk by on a daily basis, to “note” that your blinds are always closed.
Which would probably mean that they already live in your neighborhood, assuming they exist at all.
I strongly suspect it is in fact your neighbor who has a problem with how you conduct your affairs, but doesn’t want to confront you directly, instead playing a “People are saying…” type of game.
Could be, but just to recap and clarify here:
- I have had communication with my neighbors exactly three times about this issue.
- At none of those three times have the neighbors told me that the people inquiring about my place remarked on my blinds always being closed.
- The first time, the wife of the neighbor couple told me, in person, that someone had asked them whether my place was for rent, and had furthermore clarified to them that the reason this person thought that my place was for rent was that all the window coverings were closed. Not that they were always closed, just that they were closed at the time.
- The second time, the husband of the neighbor couple texted me to tell me that I may want to start opening some shades during the day, because a third person (I guess I never heard about the second person) had asked if my place was “on the market.” This text made no mention of whether the person inquiring about my place had said anything about my window shades.
- The third time, I ran into the husband of the neighbor couple outside, and asked him, in person, how these people were contacting them about my place. He said that the most recent one, the one he texted me about, had been walking by while he happened to be outside.
I don’t typically notice neighbors’ roofs, but If I happened to be out walking in a Beaufort Force 10 gale, I’d pay attention to whose roof was blowing off.
Personally, “whose” roof it was wouldn’t interest me in the slightest. But the trajectory of the roof, and especially if that trajectory would intersect with mine, would interest me intensely.
I’ve never heard of this in my life, and I’ve been living in houses (including a duplex for a few years) with blinds closed 24/7 for over 40 years.
As others have suggested, perhaps do something to the exterior that indicates the home is owner occupied.