Sometimes, good things happen when one treats people fairly and practices good business.
A couple weeks ago, Naresh of Property 1 stopped me as I was heading to work. He asked if I have any 3 bedroom apartments available. When a good tenant asks if there are any other apartments for rent, I usually get nervous. In his situation, Naresh was asking since there are currently 5 people living in that 2 bedroom apartment. I told him that I didn’t have any available right now, and then he explained a very interesting situation to me.
Naresh has friends in his Nepali community that aren’t being treated well by their landlords, and they ask him all the time if I have any apartments available. Apparently, his Nepali friends see the way I treat Naresh (you know, like a human being) and they want to move into any of my available apartments. He said that his Nepali friends and family are mostly looking for three bedroom apartments. So I told him that I should have something by the end of the year. I thought I was just doing it to placate him, but I think I have a golden opportunity here. Let me explain.
Damon likes to talk about an old Italian friend of his, let’s call him Gino. Gino has a few properties on the same block in a not-so-great neighborhood, and he rented one of his apartments to an immigrant family. Whenever his American tenants moved out, his immigrant family would move in some of their other family members/friends. He never has to post on Craigslist for empty apartments. The best part is that these properties are all within a block or two of each other in a low income neighborhood. They like to be together as a show of unity and strength, which works to their advantage. But having property in that neighborhood is also advantageous to me because it means low property taxes. Combine stable tenants with low property taxes, and then guess what that gets me? Reliable income. A healthy bank account. A big fucking smile on my face. All good things. Now let’s look at the obvious variables:
Not all immigrants are good. The Africans of Property X proved that. And it’s a huge risk. Buying properties in not-so-great areas means that, if Naresh ever screwed me over, I’d be stuck with a bunch of properties in a neighborhood that no one else would want to live in. These are BIG risks that have to be taken into consideration. Weighing the pros and cons, however, makes it very clear that I should look into buying properties next year for Naresh and his community.
This is where I really like white-skinned people, particularly the greedy ones. They treat immigrants like crap, take their money, and make no repairs because… well… they’re not from this country, so how can they be worth the trouble? Right? So they come to me. They see that I treat them like they are native to this country. I treat them with the respect I feel an immigrant deserves. They luck out because their landlord is a guy who was born and raised by parents who left Nigeria to come to the US and bust their asses to make it. I never lose sight of the fact that we’re all immigrants here, and the struggle to “make it” is a lot easier for immigrants when they have a landlord treat them like actual humans. Maybe it’s easier for me to treat them well since I’m a direct son of immigrants. If that’s what it takes to respect the concepts that this country was founded on, then the USA is seriously fucked. So thank you, douchebag slumlords, for treating the immigrants like shit. Because they’ll all come to me with Naresh singing my praises, and I’ll be able to grow an infinite tenant base that will bring stable income for a life time.
I spoke to Naresh last night, and he says the people living in the apartment really want to move out because they’re having a hard time dealing with the lack of space. He also has other family members living in a bad apartment who are waiting for the Property 1 tenants to move out so they could move in there. So the pressure is on. I have to find a cheap two-family property in Property 1’s area that has at least one three-bedroom apartment. I have to do this with virtually no money, as all of my assets will be tied into PRP #4’s renovations for the next few months. And I have to do it before the Property 1 tenants get tired of waiting for me and move out. Well, it’s not like I haven’t dealt with the impossible before, right?
P.S.: You know what I was just thinking? What if I throw someone out of Property 2, move Belle and Sebastian into there. Then I’ll move Naresh into Belle and Sebastian’s upstairs three-bedroom apartment? That would allow his other family members to move into Naresh’s 2 bedroom apartment and then I’m all set. Hmm, something to think about…
A couple weeks ago, Naresh of Property 1 stopped me as I was heading to work. He asked if I have any 3 bedroom apartments available. When a good tenant asks if there are any other apartments for rent, I usually get nervous. In his situation, Naresh was asking since there are currently 5 people living in that 2 bedroom apartment. I told him that I didn’t have any available right now, and then he explained a very interesting situation to me.
Naresh has friends in his Nepali community that aren’t being treated well by their landlords, and they ask him all the time if I have any apartments available. Apparently, his Nepali friends see the way I treat Naresh (you know, like a human being) and they want to move into any of my available apartments. He said that his Nepali friends and family are mostly looking for three bedroom apartments. So I told him that I should have something by the end of the year. I thought I was just doing it to placate him, but I think I have a golden opportunity here. Let me explain.
Damon likes to talk about an old Italian friend of his, let’s call him Gino. Gino has a few properties on the same block in a not-so-great neighborhood, and he rented one of his apartments to an immigrant family. Whenever his American tenants moved out, his immigrant family would move in some of their other family members/friends. He never has to post on Craigslist for empty apartments. The best part is that these properties are all within a block or two of each other in a low income neighborhood. They like to be together as a show of unity and strength, which works to their advantage. But having property in that neighborhood is also advantageous to me because it means low property taxes. Combine stable tenants with low property taxes, and then guess what that gets me? Reliable income. A healthy bank account. A big fucking smile on my face. All good things. Now let’s look at the obvious variables:
Not all immigrants are good. The Africans of Property X proved that. And it’s a huge risk. Buying properties in not-so-great areas means that, if Naresh ever screwed me over, I’d be stuck with a bunch of properties in a neighborhood that no one else would want to live in. These are BIG risks that have to be taken into consideration. Weighing the pros and cons, however, makes it very clear that I should look into buying properties next year for Naresh and his community.
This is where I really like white-skinned people, particularly the greedy ones. They treat immigrants like crap, take their money, and make no repairs because… well… they’re not from this country, so how can they be worth the trouble? Right? So they come to me. They see that I treat them like they are native to this country. I treat them with the respect I feel an immigrant deserves. They luck out because their landlord is a guy who was born and raised by parents who left Nigeria to come to the US and bust their asses to make it. I never lose sight of the fact that we’re all immigrants here, and the struggle to “make it” is a lot easier for immigrants when they have a landlord treat them like actual humans. Maybe it’s easier for me to treat them well since I’m a direct son of immigrants. If that’s what it takes to respect the concepts that this country was founded on, then the USA is seriously fucked. So thank you, douchebag slumlords, for treating the immigrants like shit. Because they’ll all come to me with Naresh singing my praises, and I’ll be able to grow an infinite tenant base that will bring stable income for a life time.
I spoke to Naresh last night, and he says the people living in the apartment really want to move out because they’re having a hard time dealing with the lack of space. He also has other family members living in a bad apartment who are waiting for the Property 1 tenants to move out so they could move in there. So the pressure is on. I have to find a cheap two-family property in Property 1’s area that has at least one three-bedroom apartment. I have to do this with virtually no money, as all of my assets will be tied into PRP #4’s renovations for the next few months. And I have to do it before the Property 1 tenants get tired of waiting for me and move out. Well, it’s not like I haven’t dealt with the impossible before, right?
P.S.: You know what I was just thinking? What if I throw someone out of Property 2, move Belle and Sebastian into there. Then I’ll move Naresh into Belle and Sebastian’s upstairs three-bedroom apartment? That would allow his other family members to move into Naresh’s 2 bedroom apartment and then I’m all set. Hmm, something to think about…
What is your opinion of the following presented recently in the NYT: "Private landlords who have blanket bans on renting to people with criminal records are in violation of the Fair Housing Act and can be sued and face penalties for discrimination, the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development said." Looks like a page out of Stuart Chase's book, "we don't want to own your property, just dictate what you can do with it."
ReplyDeleteNot sure what this has to do with the post topic, but I guess the question is solid enough to answer.
DeleteI've known for years that I could be fined as a landlord for discriminating against certain races or ethnic backgrounds. The thing is that I'm a realist, and so is every other successful landlord. No landlord in his/her right mind is going to buy a beautiful house in an A+ neighborhood, and then rent it out to welfare bums who can only afford a third of the rent while the government pays the rest. It's just bad long-term business. If I buy in a high income neighborhood, I rent out to high income tenants. Low income neighborhood gets low income tenants. It's all very simple. It just happens that, since this is America, income is tied in with race.
Like any good landlord, I ignore all the "bans" and "violations" talk and simply do what I know makes sense. If you don't discriminate, you can't be a good landlord. So I have to keep up to date with the laws and make sure my rental ads don't violate any of them. When I reject someone, I make sure to blame it on a combination of issues that can't be questioned, like job income, criminal history, and prior evictions. It can't be just one anymore. Since it's illegal to discriminate against those with SSI/disability, I simply tell them that another prospective tenant beat them to the approval. I'll also schedule their appointments farther down the week than those who work and have a better resume with a clean record. And if all that fails, I'll just tell them that even though they didn't get the apartment, they're application was good and they should call me back next month to see if I have something else available. They mostly don't complain when you say it with kindness and keep the hope alive. Play it smart, you know?
America will always be America, and that means we will always have a few laws that are good on paper but unrealistic in fiscal reality. The government will always pretend to know how to run your life better than you... they all have that mentality. We just have to navigate carefully through the murky waters of political language to get what we want.
Now that I think about it, that was a good question...
P.S.: These type of laws can also be used for profit by a smart landlord. If you want an example, check out "white flight"