How worthwhile is it to keep on good terms with Sam?
Last week I got a call from a non-profit organization that provides grants for property repairs, asking me questions about Sam. He put my property management company down for a job on one of his properties, wherein he would get his own guys to do it much cheaper and benefit from the profits. He did this before in 2010 and I allowed it because I didn’t see a problem and the organization never called me. This time, however, they called and I got nervous. I told them that I’d have to call back, and then called Sam and asked why they’re calling all of a sudden. Sam tried to play it off like it was no big deal, but it really is. Many grant programs (and I’m guessing this one as well) are funded with taxpayer dollars. If someone does their homework and sees that it’s really him that’s doing the work and not me, I can get into trouble. Maybe it happens all the time in the property management world, but I still want to do business with some kind of integrity. What bothered me more was that this can easily be avoided by hiring a regular contractor and making a deal with him. I mean, if you risk the chance of getting into trouble, why involve someone you call a “friend” and risk his reputation as well? And I’m beginning to notice a pattern.
Last month Sam evicted one of his tenants, and he was pissed off because the guy lied to him about promising to pay. Sam wanted to garnish their wages but didn’t know where the tenant worked, as he’d just started a new job. In Smalltown, one must provide the employer of the evicted tenant in order to get garnishment of wages. So he called me up asking if I can follow them to work. I told him that he can do it himself, but he insisted that they would recognize his car. So I lent my car to him the next day, and he came back complaining that he was scared that they might’ve seen him. Again, he asked me to do it and again I said no. I just didn’t like the idea of me having to do something that he could do himself, especially when he said this line:
“It’s not the money, but the principle!”
So I’m supposed to sneak out of work for his “principles”?? Need more? Okay.
Back in 2009, Sam had a handyman that took money to do a job but never did it. Instead of finding the guy and beating his ass, he hired one of his handymen to find the guy and beat him up. He even paid the guy upfront. I remember thinking to myself: How crazy is Sam? He really thinks the guy he just paid to beat someone up doesn’t realize that Sam is just scared to get in trouble so he’d rather risk someone else’s life?? I’m sure they were laughing at Sam when he wasn’t around, thanking him for the free money. Of course, the guy was never beat up and Sam wasted his money. But that’s just another example of Sam willing to risk other people’s safety for his own whims.
As I detailed in an earlier post in October last year, I’m only keeping Sam around so that I can retire before him and let him know I retired before him. But is it worth it? Shouldn't I throw him out of my life like I did his worthless wife Sonya last year? Is it worth dealing with his schemes and scams? In the end, I think it is. If I set the right boundaries (I told him I’m never doing the grant scam again), I can stay on good terms long enough to shove it in his face that his bad business practices will have him work security jobs until he’s in his 60s. That he had to do it with his parents’ money and STILL couldn’t beat me. That he had 30 properties at one point while I only had one, and yet I retired faster than him with just 4 properties. Is it worth it? For now... you bet your sweet ass.
Last week I got a call from a non-profit organization that provides grants for property repairs, asking me questions about Sam. He put my property management company down for a job on one of his properties, wherein he would get his own guys to do it much cheaper and benefit from the profits. He did this before in 2010 and I allowed it because I didn’t see a problem and the organization never called me. This time, however, they called and I got nervous. I told them that I’d have to call back, and then called Sam and asked why they’re calling all of a sudden. Sam tried to play it off like it was no big deal, but it really is. Many grant programs (and I’m guessing this one as well) are funded with taxpayer dollars. If someone does their homework and sees that it’s really him that’s doing the work and not me, I can get into trouble. Maybe it happens all the time in the property management world, but I still want to do business with some kind of integrity. What bothered me more was that this can easily be avoided by hiring a regular contractor and making a deal with him. I mean, if you risk the chance of getting into trouble, why involve someone you call a “friend” and risk his reputation as well? And I’m beginning to notice a pattern.
Last month Sam evicted one of his tenants, and he was pissed off because the guy lied to him about promising to pay. Sam wanted to garnish their wages but didn’t know where the tenant worked, as he’d just started a new job. In Smalltown, one must provide the employer of the evicted tenant in order to get garnishment of wages. So he called me up asking if I can follow them to work. I told him that he can do it himself, but he insisted that they would recognize his car. So I lent my car to him the next day, and he came back complaining that he was scared that they might’ve seen him. Again, he asked me to do it and again I said no. I just didn’t like the idea of me having to do something that he could do himself, especially when he said this line:
“It’s not the money, but the principle!”
So I’m supposed to sneak out of work for his “principles”?? Need more? Okay.
Back in 2009, Sam had a handyman that took money to do a job but never did it. Instead of finding the guy and beating his ass, he hired one of his handymen to find the guy and beat him up. He even paid the guy upfront. I remember thinking to myself: How crazy is Sam? He really thinks the guy he just paid to beat someone up doesn’t realize that Sam is just scared to get in trouble so he’d rather risk someone else’s life?? I’m sure they were laughing at Sam when he wasn’t around, thanking him for the free money. Of course, the guy was never beat up and Sam wasted his money. But that’s just another example of Sam willing to risk other people’s safety for his own whims.
As I detailed in an earlier post in October last year, I’m only keeping Sam around so that I can retire before him and let him know I retired before him. But is it worth it? Shouldn't I throw him out of my life like I did his worthless wife Sonya last year? Is it worth dealing with his schemes and scams? In the end, I think it is. If I set the right boundaries (I told him I’m never doing the grant scam again), I can stay on good terms long enough to shove it in his face that his bad business practices will have him work security jobs until he’s in his 60s. That he had to do it with his parents’ money and STILL couldn’t beat me. That he had 30 properties at one point while I only had one, and yet I retired faster than him with just 4 properties. Is it worth it? For now... you bet your sweet ass.
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