Are you a slum lord?

Slum lords, by definition, care about nothing more than lining their pockets with as much profit as possible. They are easily recognized by their actions. I have a strong suspicion that every area has a few of them. How do slum lords stay in business? Well, they usually rent to people the rest of us don’t rent to. They don’t bother with background and credit checks, perhaps because of the run-down appearance of their properties, they know they probably won’t get anyone with good credit, so why bother? I suspect that even if they do collect information on their tenants, they probably won’t call any referrals because they already know that what’s been put in is probably fraudulent anyway. The most obvious advice on them is that these are the same homeowners who will not make necessary repairs on their own properties. When things go wrong with the property, you can count on them to take the cheapest and easiest way out, no matter what the repair. Covering up problems seems to be the norm for them. Somehow, they have accepted the theory of simply keeping their properties rented for as much rent as possible until it crashes around them.

Some slum landlords show up in person to collect rent in order to head count their apartments. They knock on the door, enter the unit and begin to count how many occupants there are. They base that month’s rent on the number of people they see and charge it at that time. Wow, you talk about a shitty business model. Its residents are not residents at all. I suspect they’re not much to the slum lord. They are not really people. They are just sources of temporary income. They don’t stay long and always leave frustrated and angry. The municipalities know all the shanty lords by name and what properties they own, since they are the ones generating all the complaints. They are probably so many that they could justify the purchase of a monthly parking pass! Somehow these slum lords keep getting people to rent to them and keep them from being kicked out of town.

Let’s review how the behavior of slum landlords compares to what I do as a bona fide honest landlord so that the differences are clear:

• Slumlords rent to anyone – By comparison, I rent to people who are qualified to comfortably make rent payments and will treat my property with respect. I check and verify all background, references, and other security risk information before moving forward with any rental agreement. When an applicant passes my due diligence requirements, I ask that all residents follow the established behavior guidelines. Putting someone in a house just to be occupied is not an option for me.
• Slum lords don’t make repairs – I make repairs to my properties as needed. This is necessary for many reasons. First and foremost is the safety and security of my residents. On top of that, there’s a quiet enjoyment and overall contentment. If their repairs and concerns are dealt with efficiently, they’ll stay longer, be more willing to pay their rent on time, and are generally easier to deal with.
• Slum owners can collect cash in person – I do not collect rent personally at the residence nor am I in the habit of counting the occupants. I expect the residents I do business with to be adults and to be treated as such. I have had situations where this did not bode well for me in the end, but I refuse to let some bad residences lower my standards.