Welcome to Week 15 – Chris’s Personal Philosophy
George Bailey summed up Chris’s personal philosophy It’s A Wonderful Life, when he told off Mr. Potter, in defense of the working man’s access to a decent home.
“What’d you say just a minute ago? They had to wait and save their money before they even thought of a decent home. Wait? Wait for what?! Until their children grow up and leave them? Until they’re so old and broken-down that — You know how long it takes a workin’ man to save five thousand dollars? Just remember this, Mr. Potter, that this rabble you’re talking about, they do most of the working and paying and living and dying in this community. Well, is it too much to have them work and pay and live and die in a couple of decent rooms and a bath?”
There is a tenant for almost every home. Chris has lost money by over-improving properties for the market, offering a superior product, hoping for above average rent and his tenant taking above average care of the property!
It never worked out that way. Chris has made the same mistakes with $350 units and $1000 units. If tenants think about their landlord at all, it is only when there is a problem. We understand this now, and while we still want to offer the best product and service in every market segment, when investing in real estate, it is best to check your ego at the door and look for personal validation elsewhere.
Our responsibility is to offer safe, clean, and functional properties that rent at—or just below—the market. We want to offer the best housing we can at a profitable price the market can afford.
Landlords offering affordable housing should not be stereotyped as “Slum Lords — any more than tenants with subsidized housing vouchers should be stereotyped, period. In order to maintain profitability and tenant satisfaction, Chris has chosen not to work with landlords who refuse to maintain their properties, and he’s chosen not to rent to certain tenants. But we aren’t going to call any of them offensive names.
There will always be a small percentage of tenants who do not hold up their end of the landlord/tenant relationship. Some tenants abuse the property, fail to pay the rent, or threaten the comfort and security of others in the neighborhood. And Chris does not hesitate to evict these people. Our job is to protect the interests of our property owners.
Chris believes Relationships are far more important than transactions. ROOST Real Estate Company. was founded on that principle. It matters how we treat our tenants and clients and what we expect from ourselves and the kind of company we aspire to be. This attitude matters to the people we work with as well.
Owner profitability is a direct result of exemplary tenant relations, education, and service. Real estate investors deserve to make a significant return on their capital and tenants deserve a safe and functional home that offers fair value for their money. And when something goes wrong, they need to know that their needs will be met in a timely fashion with the utmost respect.
(We’ll talk more about how we manage the myriad daily details for our clients in Part 7 – The Basics of Management.)
Join me right here, next week, where we discuss the Benefits of hiring a Licensed Property Manager & I’ll tell you a Horror Story.
For a free copy of the full book, A Real Estate Investor’s Guide to Profitability, email FreeBook@ROOSTRealEstateCo.com and we will send you one. Or download a free e-book version here: MakeRealEstateWork.com/free-book