the landlord pipedream

I started thinking about owning property from my grandfather, I noticed that he never worked when I was a kid, he just drove around went to the beach, came and visited us and the like. I thought my dad works but my grandfather doesn't hmmm, I want to do what he does. I learned that what he does is he owns, and people send him money. So the first image of what I thought was the "work" of a land owner was him waking up at 10 or 11 am and rolling out to the mailbox and collecting the rent checks and going back in the house and spending the rest of the day wondering what to do. So I thought oh hell yeah, this is what I want to do. So as an early kid I thought this would be my ultimate goal. Be like grandpa. I then went on to grade school and completed my coursework in basic math, english, reading, and some music. I was then accepted to a fine Jr High in the mountains of Portola california. I enrolled in the program of basic education to prepare myself for High School. What I should have been doing was to ask my grandfather all the questions that neeed to be asked to learn about landlordism. I didn't I thought just picking up the checks sometime during the day from the mailbox is really all I needed to know. well, ha ha. NOT!

so years later i bought my first place in Oakland. 1 bed dump broken windows, counters on the floor, gaping holes in the floor I could see the dirt below, I happily moved in and began my real estate career. Flipping, renting, fixing. It was hard at first, I was working and lived in this dump and whenever I had a bit of extra change I would then go ahead and buy a cabinate or a piece of dry wall or some materials and do a little upgrade here and there, well I was not making any money back then and extra was hard to comeby, it took me 2 years to complete and have a nice unit ready to rent. I cleaned it up nice I found a place to live with my brother in Richmond annex only paying about $200/mo. it was good. I found a renter thru section-8 (whole nother topic er) and he moved in and started paying me about $680/mo. So the rent covered the small mortgage and my rent at the Richmond house. AND I was working fulltime in S.F. So I was putting money away with no real costs. Things were good. This was my first Tenant and he was great, he had some mental/vietnam problems and his elderly father took care of him and the property. It was good I was spoiled, the actually paid me on time and the whole amount, and they fixed whatever the problem was. The experience made me feel like wow this is so easy, why wouldn't everyone do this. So I worked hard and saved a bunch of money and bought my second place. It was a broken down duplex in Berkeley. I moved from the Richmond place and moved into the downstairs unit in the Berkeley place. I quickly fixed up and cleaned the upstairs unit and rented it to my Brother and his wife. They were paying me $600/mo, my mortgage was about $800/mo so with the $680 from the first place and the $600 from upstairs and my job in S.F. I was really starting to make a nice profit. So I stayed there for about 2 years and then I bought another place in Berkeley, so now I had three places paying me and I was working full-time. Nice.

but then the landlord business started to raise it's ugly head. The new house had renters in it already, they didn't pay the rent on time. they were always 1 month behind, and I would call and tell them and they would say they didn't have any money and this is the best they can do. so right away I am trying not to rock the boat and get a lawyer and spend more money. But this tenant then would start claiming problems and subtracting fixes from the rent, like he had to replace the stove and the floor was messed up so he would not pay me $800 of the rent, and that would be a month behind. I was a sitting duck I had no idea what to do about this. I asked them to pay on time and they didn't. Can you imagine? someone that doesn't regard paying rent on time as an important responsibility. so I then said to stop subtracting and they didn't. I need to see these things that you are claiming and I will decide what needs to be done. Anyways he then pulled something off the net and said that this website says that the landlord has to pay water and gas and something and so he is going to subtract all these costs from the rents, oh my god!!! So I got a lawyer. this lawyer was good, he took the case made my property rent control compliant(new to me) we then went back in time to find old leases for this house and found some from 10 years back, he then added the allowable rent increase for the last ten years and found that legally under rent control I was entitled to $2100/mo rather than the $1300/mo they were paying. So I wrote this wackfuck a letter, saying that according to the rent control boards laws I am entitled to $2100/mo and that I am notifying him that the rent will increase to this amount in 30 days, if you cannot afford it and you need to move, I will understand. So he called me and said he si going to sue me and that I am a capitalst pig trying to take advantage of the less fortunate and the uneducated, he was from Oakland and was now a muslim that worshiped gaunja. that is why he didn't want to pay rent. he was full of shit and tried everyway not to pay rent and screw with me. So he called back and said "well I guess you've done your homework, I am calling to tell you we are moving" here's the kicker, this prick, who complained for years that I am a capitalist pig sucking money from the poor and not respecting the lower income folks, well he went and bought a house. ASS really struggling but was able to save for a fuckin house.
so let that be a lesson for ya, don't believe anyone, just get ur rent and if they can't pay have a going away party for them asap!! Since that point I have had at least one major tenant bullshit problem every year for the last 10 years!! and some have been absolutely fucked up assholes. this life has made me no forced me not to trust anyone, and not give a shit about their problems, not my problem. I used to do alot for people to get them to pay but now it just isn't worth it. So now I hate dealing with this crap all the time, I am sick of everyone's excuses and problems. Can't stand it and I don't care. don't get me wrong there are a few great tenants now and again that are great. anyways that's some stuff for ya now...