Here. Read this. It was written back in 2014, after Mallory moved out of Property X’s upstairs apartment:
$260
total. Mallory's $250 paid for most of this, leaving me to pay just the
$10 remaining. Sweet! Despite how much I couldn't stand Mallory and
her constant whining and prissy attitude, her tenancy ends on a very
good
note. Her money paid for all the repairs at Property X, and all but
$10 for the repairs at another property that she had nothing to do with.
She was only responsible for the door window, and that ended up costing
about $30 with the labor. Thanks Mallory!"
I was very proud of myself that day. But since then, my decision to take Mallory’s money by lying has haunted me. Less than two months after writing that post, I wrote another called Doing Good Business, where I expressed my lament for screwing her over. Every time I pass by Property X, Mallory pops into my head. I’m reminded every time I see Mallory at a grocery store or at the local Home Depot, where she briefly worked. She’d give me an icy look and I’d pretend to shrug it off. I’m a landlord, after all. I’m used to getting dirty looks from former tenants. But it felt different coming from her. I knew that, for the first time, I had done something against my morals.
Look, I’ve done some pretty fucked up things to people in my life. But they all deserved it. I’m able to go to sleep with a clear conscience about those events because, in my mind, it was the right thing to do. But this thing with Mallory… I basically stole her money. I don’t steal from people. I didn’t fight to stay alive so that I could start a business that robs people of their money. Look, if she was a welfare bum I’d have no problem. But she worked for her money. She kept the place clean, and made it super-easy to get the place rented out. No matter how annoying she was or how much I couldn’t stand her, Mallory didn’t deserve that.
Last week, I wrote a check under the property management name for $250 and sent it to her job. I enclosed a letter explaining that the $250 was a repayment of some type of debt owed… I don’t even remember what I wrote. But I used a fake name and had Sam sign everything. I’d prefer she didn’t know it had anything to do with me… hell, I’d even prefer that she continued hating me. I wasn’t kidding when I said I found her extremely annoying. But at the end of the day, I need to go to sleep with a clear mind. I woke up Tuesday morning to find that she had indeed cashed the check. Needless to say, I had a huge smile on my face (ear to ear) and slept very well that night. Mallory can give me all the dirty looks she wants now, and I truly won't give a shit. I know I’ve corrected my wrong and can move on with the lesson learned. Remember who you are, Ahkenaten, and never go against yourself again..
P.S.: This is one of the reasons why Sam beat me to paycheck retirement, by the way. He would never return that money, nor would most sane landlords. I know it wasn’t the smart thing to do business-wise, but I never forget that the business I create is a direct reflection of my beliefs and personality. One way or another, going against that would lead me to eventual failure.
"Ear
to ear. That's how big my smile is right now. I just... I really love being a landlord right now.
Last
night, I stopped over by Property X to get the keys back from the
upstairs tenant Mallory. While moving her bed out last weekend, she mentioned that
she broke a window so I had to assess how much it would cost and take
it out of her security deposit. When she told me this over the phone
I assumed it was a normal window, so I was gonna take $100 of her
$475 deposit. When I got there, it was actually the main door's
window. I assumed I had to replace the entire door, so I charged her
$250, returning only $225. I gave her the check, and Mallory was
finally gone. The downstairs tenant, Tisha, is officially my last remaining bad
tenant.
This
morning, it dawned on me that I could probably have the window in the
door replaced rather than the entire door. I called a glass company
and they confirmed my belief, and said they could make a window pane
out of Plexiglas for $16. They can come and install it for another
$200 (big window company), or I can get a handyman to do it for much cheaper. I called Pelcom Nick, who was
doing a couple leak jobs for Property 3. He came by and installed it,
plus fixed the locks on the door. So, adding up everything:
Property
X - ($116)
New
exterior door window ($16)
Door
lock cover, door knob, and wood putty for main door lock ($18)
Cost
to repair broken attic windows at hardware store ($42)
Pelcom
Nick's Labor ($50)
Property
3 - ($134)
New
Kitchen Faucet for Eugene and Taniqua ($54)
Washers to fix Chucky's bathtub faucet ($5)
Pelcom
Nick's Labor ($75)
I was very proud of myself that day. But since then, my decision to take Mallory’s money by lying has haunted me. Less than two months after writing that post, I wrote another called Doing Good Business, where I expressed my lament for screwing her over. Every time I pass by Property X, Mallory pops into my head. I’m reminded every time I see Mallory at a grocery store or at the local Home Depot, where she briefly worked. She’d give me an icy look and I’d pretend to shrug it off. I’m a landlord, after all. I’m used to getting dirty looks from former tenants. But it felt different coming from her. I knew that, for the first time, I had done something against my morals.
Look, I’ve done some pretty fucked up things to people in my life. But they all deserved it. I’m able to go to sleep with a clear conscience about those events because, in my mind, it was the right thing to do. But this thing with Mallory… I basically stole her money. I don’t steal from people. I didn’t fight to stay alive so that I could start a business that robs people of their money. Look, if she was a welfare bum I’d have no problem. But she worked for her money. She kept the place clean, and made it super-easy to get the place rented out. No matter how annoying she was or how much I couldn’t stand her, Mallory didn’t deserve that.
Last week, I wrote a check under the property management name for $250 and sent it to her job. I enclosed a letter explaining that the $250 was a repayment of some type of debt owed… I don’t even remember what I wrote. But I used a fake name and had Sam sign everything. I’d prefer she didn’t know it had anything to do with me… hell, I’d even prefer that she continued hating me. I wasn’t kidding when I said I found her extremely annoying. But at the end of the day, I need to go to sleep with a clear mind. I woke up Tuesday morning to find that she had indeed cashed the check. Needless to say, I had a huge smile on my face (ear to ear) and slept very well that night. Mallory can give me all the dirty looks she wants now, and I truly won't give a shit. I know I’ve corrected my wrong and can move on with the lesson learned. Remember who you are, Ahkenaten, and never go against yourself again..
P.S.: This is one of the reasons why Sam beat me to paycheck retirement, by the way. He would never return that money, nor would most sane landlords. I know it wasn’t the smart thing to do business-wise, but I never forget that the business I create is a direct reflection of my beliefs and personality. One way or another, going against that would lead me to eventual failure.
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