Have you had your morals tested in this business?
Member since 2020 · 33 posts · 24 votes
Have you ever been in a position of coming in conflict between your business and morals? Maybe you had to evict a tenant down on his luck. Maybe you had to stop being Mr. Nice Guy to yield more profits. Maybe it's something entirely else. If you've ever been in this position, I'm curious to know you handled it, and what you've learned along the way.
We're in a business where we have to deal with people, their personal lives, their financial lives, and so much more that can all be intertwined and put us in a tough situation. Through all of it, I'm glad to have always done business in a strict manner, without exceptions for anybody, but at the same time being a compassionate individual who helps my tenants in other ways.
I've had to evict a whole family for numerous violations. It was about a dozen people in my small 2 bdrm apartment, but I ended up giving most of their rent and security deposit back (even with all their violations and damages) so they can live in a motel till they found another place. I've increased rents on some tenants every renewal, where even a $50 increase can make a difference in a small business tenant. One of my bigger internal conflicts was that I've had to use some cheaper maintenance, rehab, appliance, service, etc. options over the years to save money when I was starting out, but I would do my best to facilitate the work to make sure quality & service for my tenants were still good.
At the same time sending out christmas gifts, painting murals at my expense for the community, taking 6 days of personal days at my job to assist a tenant through permits/licenses/court hearings, coordinating with attorneys and consultants to help a tenant navigate his business, baby/newborn gifts, and numerous other activities over the years to just make sure I'm there for my tenants whether or not they asked. I think it was this, just going a little above and beyond, especially in a C/D environment that I worked in went a very, very long way with building a strong relationship with my tenants. I've always pushed for what I could as an investor to get the most $$ out of my assets, and as an operator was very strict in sticking by the book. So when there were times of financial tension or other things tenants wanted me to cut them some slack for, the tenants would know who they were dealing with and how I operated (same with them and all their neighbors), and they ultimately understand so that we can continue working together. It's helped me keep my very long term tenants happy, knowing I always have their back yet still having a balance by respecting the tenant-landlord relation.
@Anthony Jasmine, I would say anyone that has ever raised rent on any tenant is theoretically putting profits over people. But the flip side is most landlords are mom and pops that need that rent increase to keep up with their own cost of living increases, be it health care, fuel prices, or taking a family trip.
I am actually in a position now. I am looking to sell a property, that will need some pretty extensive renovation to get top dollar for. I have a section 8 tenant (the last in my portfolio) who has been at this house for 6 years. Overall, she is a good tenant, respectful, low maintenance, pays mostly on time, etc. But for my family's long term goals, we are selling this property and she needs to go so we can get the rehab done and property sold. My morals have me feeling terrible for my tenant, but the flip side is doing what is right for my family too.