Where do I begin with this one? It starts with wanting to help a friend out with their property in Baltimore and also to grow my business as a Property Manager/Real Estate Developer.
So back in January I agreed to take on the task of renting out a row home in downtown Bmore. Great location so I figured it would be an easy sell to a tenant.
Me and my savvy little business self gets together a few flyers, posts on Craigslist and hits the ground running. I even got my little yard sign to place in the window of the property since there are no YARDS in downtown Bmore. LOL It literally is door --->Stoop--->Sidewalk--->Curb--->Street. If you are lucky you may be next to an abandoned lot that actually has grass growing on it. However, the abandoned lot can be just as much trouble as an obnoxious neighbor hence the purpose of THIS blog.
So fast forward past the late night flyering at the bus stops and public restrooms in the mall to the more sophisticated method of placing adds on Craigslist. I literally had a dozen phone calls the same night that I posted the adds.
So, I hosted an open house event. Of course it "snowed" the day before and the roads were a little crappy. BUT that didn't stop several prospects from attending. Great turn out but the downside was that BGE and their retarded policies prevented the electricity from being turned on. Now, although we had a mild "sprinter" (thats a spring like winter) it was still cold as monkey balls in the house. So to say the lease it wasn't as pleasant as it could have been had there been lights and HEAT on in the place.
Anyhoo, Several open house events later and a dozen individual appointments I FINALLY got some serious prospects. I mean they took applications, filled them out right there on the spot and even paid the $30 App Fee that was required to conduct the background check.
So, prospect A basically said I want the property right now I can pay 6 months in advance. I hear that and think GREAT that will cover ALL of my expenses to get the property rental ready AND cover my management fee upfront! So I moved forward with getting this prospects application through to approval stage. Everything came back aok so I said alright lets meet. Come to find out this heifer was pulling my chain. Yeah you want the place but when its time to sign the paperwork you want to complain about nit picky things that need to be done. AFTER i go ahead and take care of those things and incur even MORE expenses the prospect is still dragging their feet. I'm like #$%$$ please!
Now its a question about who is the owner, how do I know who I am renting from? I only have a PO BOX for the company. I'm like you are looking at the company and I'm not giving you my "office" address because thats MY DAMN HOUSE! So either meet me and let me reassure you of your stupid fears or go away so I can rent to someone else.
I mean seriously... this prospect went from I'm ready to move in LAST WED to now this wee THURSDAY being afraid of not knowing who she is renting from....FTW??!?!
The other little added excitement to this situation is that the nosey, pesky white neighbors around the corner who seemed so friendly at first are actually back stabbing, shady mofos. The couple who happen to park their stupid little car RIGHT IN FRONT of my rental called the city and complained about trash in the back yard. Now granted he did mention it to me and that same day I went back there and looked. Come to find out there were ONLY some cut tree branches and limbs. I figured ok the contractor will get to them. Now mind you these are the same nosey ass neighbors that called the police when my contractor started working on the property and like 9 cars showed up and forced my contractor to leave and they locked the door. A door that I DONT HAVE A KEY TO THE TOP LOCK MIND YOU! (WTF???) So once we squared that away he was able to get back into the property.
Fast forward, earlier this week I get a call from a city inspector who called me to give me a heads up that an inspector had been requested to go by the property and give it a citation. Granted he may not have been who he said he was I need to look into that but I was like seriously the "neighors" called and complained?!?!
So that same day the ish was removed. Mind you the abandoned lot next to my rental had some shit thrown in it but no one seemed to care about that but were concerned about the trash behind the house near the fence!
So the REAL kicker in ALL of this is that 1- the prospect had meet standing in this damn house for almost 2 hours and had the nerve to text me that she still wants the place but is concerned she only has a PO BOX. So why the fuck doesnt the prospect just meet me and get all her fucking questions answered?
In waiting for prospect A I see nosey cracker ass neighbor walking up the street. He turns around and walks around the entire block to go to his house. Im like oh ok I see how it is. you can make a call and complain but can't FACE your problems head on?!?!
So since his cracker ass likes to park right in front of the property I waited till he left to get in his car and went outside to greet him. He acted like oh shit let me get in my car and get outta here because I don't want to deal with this lady, she probably knows I called the city on her. But I didnt go there with him I just came from a perspective of hey you live in this neighborhood and I'd like your help to keep an eye on the property. I asked him his name and he was like you dont need to know my name I live around the corner. I'm like oh ok thats how we are rolling? Well, in the interest of keeping cracker ass off my back I was like ok so boom, I noticed the trash is gone have you happened to notice who or when the trash is being dumped? He proceeds to tell me a long ass story about how squatters lived in the house, people were stealing credit cards etc. I'm like well that had nothing to do with me and I'm trying to improve the neighborhood so in the future use my card and give me a call. THANKS.
I asked him what hist first name was and he finally gave it to me. I shook his cracker ass hand and bid him a good evening.
SERIOUS.... this world is filled with some shady dumb ass people who can't just be HONEST, UPFRONT and FACE THE FACTS! why is it so hard for a grown ass white man to approach me and say excuse me miss blah blah blah? I mean I literally spoke to his WIFE the last time because he wouldn't even respond to what I had to say. I think the business card I found on the floor was actually from HIM throwing it in the trash. WTF? People don't get it how a little common courtesy and friendliness goes a lot farther in life.
With that said I have a lovely 2 bedroom house near downtown inner harbor Bmore for rent! I'm asking $975 but may take something a little less. Get at me if you know anyone interested in moving to a lovely neighborhood.
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