I was a bit surprised we didn’t get rain last night, but that’s fine by me because I think we’ve had enough for a while. With the wind having changed directions and now coming from the north, I don’t think it even broke 70 degrees today. The one positive thing about it being cooler, we weren’t being attacked by those nasty chiggers that’ve returned once again, and this time with a vengeance.
One of this morning’s calls was from a client of mine who’s been having a few problems with one of his tenants who seems to enjoy loading up his answering machine with weak complaints about the over-all condition of his rental dwelling. It sounded like his tenant is yet another who thinks his rent is all free money that’s getting tucked in the back pocket of my client. I’ll never understand how skewed the beliefs of tenants can be when certainly knowing there are real estate taxes and insurance to be paid, likely a mortgage payment, and then those never-ending maintenance and improvement issues.
The more I listened, the more it all came rushing back to me regarding the years Holtz Realty managed over 230 rental units. Yes, that was quite the number to deal with on a daily basis.
Since I wasn’t that much involved with the rental portion of our realty business, I still ended up taking phone calls from bellyaching, late paying, chronic trouble-making, and sometimes downright evil tenants. There’d be times I couldn’t even get a word in edgewise just so to inform them I wasn’t the one they had to talk to. All I would do is take their phone number and promise there’d be someone else from the office that would be calling them.
If there was ever one incident that got forever branded in my mind, was the time when a very late paying female tenant walked up to the counter in the front of our office and started bashing the rental manager for “harassing” her about long over-due rent. I could not believe my ears when seeing her point an expensive cell phone at him and yelling, “Well I’m pregnant!”, and then stomping out of our office. Really? I didn’t know pregnancy was a communicable disease.
When hearing that excuse for being late, it created an near jaw-drop with me because she made it sound like she was to be given special treatment only because she freely and likely willing allowed herself to get impregnated, and when I caught a glimpse of her walking out, I’d say she wasn’t even “showing”.
It’s funny how priorities have changed in these times to where expensive cell phones, designer clothes, fast food, and all those other “perks” of our times, are far more important than keeping a roof over one’s head.
I just heard another weak excuse from another tenant recently regarding why his rent wasn’t paid, and according to him, the work he was having done on his hot rod was far more important at the time to where he’s likely going to find himself out in the street more sooner than later due to his inability to prioritize his bills.
Someone just recently told me that this entitlement and the “all about me” idea all started back around the year 1978 when for some reason, parents and school systems started becoming too lenient with children. I’m wondering now if that’s when they started giving trophies and ribbons for participation. Of course yours truly had to be blessed and sometimes cursed with having to adhere to very strict rules in the schools I attended. Back in those days, there was little or no wiggle room for dissension, and if there was, it was the “Three strikes and you’re out for good.” rule.
I did manage to get my closing completed today, and it appeared the buyers were happy everything went smoothly in spite of their wanting to close earlier than planned which we were able to make happen. There was a discrepancy I discovered when I returned to my office when reviewing my file for the last time. I did place a call to the banker who’d already left for the day, and you can be sure, tomorrow morning there’ll likely be a great apology coming from them along with a new document needing to be signed.
My last appointment for the day was to meet with a buyer wanting to make an offer on a property. I got all the docs prepared and signed, and then went out and presented it to the seller. Hopefully we’ll have an answer that’ll be to the buyers’ liking in the morning. If we do get it put together, I’ll be all the happier knowing that I was able to sell a home to an exceptionally pleasant young couple.
Tonight’s one-liner is: Life is a tough proposition, and the first hundred years are the hardest.
