Property manager's shocking move in man's rental home: 'Freaked out'

As a homeowner in one of Sydney's most admired beachside suburbs, Adalbert Hutter had no doubt he would find a renter to move in while he was overseas.

Yet despite the property's prime location being available over the summer months, there were seemingly no renters interested in moving in.

“I had a look at the calendar and it showed it was empty, the place was vacant," he told news.com.au.

Confused, the tech entrepreneur decided to visit the Manly property upon his return and was "shocked" by his discovery.

“I opened the door and the place was just full of clothes and personal effects, and I see a head pop around the corner," he said, before explaining it was the face of his property manager who had greeted him.

Property manager made herself at home

Struck by the unexpected turn of events, Mr Hutter initially thought he had misread the situation.

“I thought maybe I did something wrong, maybe I’d misread the calendar … I apologised to her and she was quite freaked out," he said.

However, after he "knocked on the doors" of neighbouring properties, he quickly learned that his property manager had been living in his northern beaches apartment since he left the country.

"It turns out as soon as I left she moved in,” he said.

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Despite the less than ideal situation, the businessman used it as inspiration for his next work project.

Eight years later, Mr Hutter has now created a device which helps hosts gather more information about the activity inside their home, while also upholding the occupant's privacy.

The detector, named Cappsule, is placed in common areas that tracks movement via a host of sensors, which Mr Hutter says can help a homeowner work out if undesirable activities such as parties are going on in the property.

Once the guest leaves, the host receives a report and this can used to gauge if any undesirable activity occurred inside their homes.

He says the device avoids the extremes of spying on a guest however allows the homeowner to look after their biggest asset.

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