I cannot for the life of me understand why people prey on other people who are struggling to make a living just as they are. It seems if we all help each other with taking advantage of each other then we will all win.
If you are not helping others in the same situation then you are part of the problem.
My wife and I manage a small apartment complex – eight units – in Orem Utah. Her mother owns them but she lives out of state and depends heavily on us to manage and care for these units. Having three of these apartments empty puts a strain on the bank account because the mortgage is just barely covered by the rent from the other five. And trust me, the mortgage company always gets their cut out of this situation regardless of how many are rented.
These three apartments have only been empty since the first of the month and they could have been made ready if we lived closer and could attend to them on more than a weekend basis. This past Saturday L went to the apartments by herself because lately it seems that any amount of exertion or exposure to the outside cold sets me off on a coughing fit. This is beginning to worry me as it has been a constant companion for several months now. Anyway, I went with her Sunday, but only in a moral support capacity. Her tireless efforts keeps these apartments in a clean and well maintained condition and they never fail to receive favorable comments from people searching for an apartment to rent. They say things like “these are the cleanest apartments I have seen yet”.
While it is true the building is showing its age it takes only a little effort to keep them looking better than any place else in the neighborhood simply because the other owners don't do anything to clean or maintain their apartment buildings. And they get away with charging the same amount. I can understand their position, the general attitude of renters is that the property they are renting is not theirs so why take care of it. It just doesn't seem to mater to renters in general that even though they signed a contract to keep the building clean and undamaged, they don’t honor that commitment. This is most likely based in a general lack of concern for other peoples property. And where does this attitude come from? The home. If they were taught from an early age to care for their parents home then they would learn to take care of places they rent. I cannot find any falsity in believing this assumption.
I dare say that if they are taught this simple truth then every aspect of their lives would improve and therefore the general condition of mankind would improve. Its called respect. Not the kind of ‘respect’ that street thugs and wannabe’s lavish on their ‘weapons’ and false ‘ownership’ of a neighborhood, but the only true respect that means anything: Respect for your fellow man, which begets respect on yourself and on and on until we can actually live together in greater harmony than what is evident in today's society.
Anyway, let me step off my soapbox, because it mainly falls on deaf ears anyway.
It never fails to amaze me how slovenly some people can live. And how they will force their children to live in filth without a seconds thought. Forcing children to live like this is what really burns me up. We have also learned the extent that people will lie to get what they want.
We have spent far more money than we make on these apartments just repairing damage done by the handful of true lowlife scum bags who have learned how to prey on the good nature of people who truly want to believe in the good in humanity.
They are all on their best behavior when asking for something from us (a place to live), while they lie about employment history, they lie about current income, they lie about criminal records, and then in the end, once they get what they want, they think nothing of screwing over the ‘good’ person who gave them a chance. Then after loosing several months rent and having to pay their utilities while trying to force them out with hands tied by the letter of the law, they get to slither off into the protection of like-minded people never to be heard from again and never being made to face up to their responsibilities. Why these people are protected by the legal system is beyond me.
There really needs to be a DO NOT RENT list so that other landlords do not have to go through what we have. I’m willing to bet that the previous owner we called to get reference from also lied to us about them just to get rid of them. Unethical, you bet your ass it is. These people also should be made to answer for their lies.
Is there anyone out there willing to share their horror story of renting to lying scum bags? I would love to hear from you. Maybe something can be done to get the laws changed so we don’t have to lose so much time and money on kicking these deadbeats out.
No comments:
Post a Comment