Black Slime

I just listened to a voicemail from one of my tenants, claiming that “Black Slime” has rained down in her bathroom, and that the water comes out of the spigot “brownish”…She was “Out of the country for ten days,” important that she let me know that she was traveling abroad so I’ll think that she is worldly and cultured. Also good to know where they are spending their money, although she has already paid her January rent in full and on time.

 

I returned her call, only to get voicemail. The super is heading up that way to show some vacant units, so I asked her to check it out. I’ll be down there tomorrow, so I need to know if need to buy anything from Home Depot before I head out, such as Draino for her to drink, or rat poison to sprinkle on her cereal. 

 

I shouldn’t say that, because I try to hold myself out as an example of a professional property manager, albeit one who focuses on the affordable housing sector, not the slumlord that people like to call me…

 

But you have to understand, at anyone time there are at least 10 to 20% of your tenants driving you crazy, while 80 to 90% just shut up and pay.  Guess which group this particular tenant is in.  Anyway, this is the same tenant who was away all last Summer (she’s a teacher), who was visiting her husband (!), who lives in the second city.  When she came back, guess what? Black slime!  At that time she refused to pay her rent and threatened me and informed me that it was a health hazard and that she was educated and didn’t have to live like that etc…Also, I found out, she had been letting her sister use her apartment, and her sister trashed it, clogged up the drains, and failed to report that the bathroom ceiling had collapsed from an earlier leak upstairs that was repaired.

 

Well I fixed everything as soon as she let me in to the apartment to do repairs,  which was after the Legal Aid attorney told her she couldn’t withhold rent and that by law she was required to give me a chance to make repairs.  Of course she didn’t, she called the office of code enforcement first, so they could write up violations.  When she finally let me in, the plumber pulled various hair braids out of the drain (clearly my fault), at my expense, which cleared up the black slime right away.  As for the ceiling, if someone had been home, or informed us that the apartment would be vacant for the Summer, or if her freeloading sister had reported the ceiling collapse, I could have taken care of that right away too. But no, it’s better to blame the landlord and call the city.

 

This is a tough business sometimes.  I’ve earned every freakin’ penny I’ve made and I deserve to be rich!

 

 

 

My Reply to Assemblywoman Vandervalk

Dear Ms. Vandervalk,

I believe the Governor's proposal to cap property taxes at 4% is a good idea and a step in the right direction. Alone it is not enough, because spending is clearly out of control, but at least there could be a reasonable cap on property taxes that is in the realm of actual inflation. I urge you to support this idea if and when it comes up for a vote.

Just so you know, my property taxes in 2000 were around $7200 a year. Although I sold that house in 2005, the current taxes on that property are around $12,000, that's an annual increase of about 11% per year!!!

The 2006 taxes on my current house are $11,600 up $1,100 in just one year or about 10%!!! This is unsustainable for middleclass folks.

Thank you for your hard work and attention to these important matters.

Rosey

Vandervalk Calls for Smaller State Govt. and a Fair School Funding Formula

I received the following e-mail form my state representative Assemblywoman Charlotte Vandervalk, a Bergen County, NJ Republican:

For the last five budgets, the problem has been the same, increased
spending. The priorities of the Governor and the Democrats are very wrong.
The state's work force has increased by 13, 886 state workers, a 23%
increase, in just the last six years, and the state budget has nearly
doubled to $30.8 billion. Republicans and nonpartisan groups, such as the
State Chamber of Commerce offered the Governor more than $2 billion
dollars in spending cuts for the State budget, but the Governor refused
even to consider them.

Our school funding formula is the real driving force behind our high local
property taxes, and it severely shortchanges our area. The State's own
financial data clearly show that while our residents contribute a
significant portion of the State's tax revenue, we do not receive a
commensurate portion of State education aid and that inequity is due
directly to the school funding formula. Unless the formula itself is
changed, there will be no meaningful tax relief for us.

I have had legislation in place for five years which would grant a basic
amount of state aid for every public school child, but it has been ignored
by the party in control simply because the current funding formula
benefits certain key legislative districts like Hoboken and Newark while
giving our school children virtually nothing. Contained in two bills,
A‑144 and ACR‑51, my proposal would reverse the diversion of
funds that has led to our high property taxes. Indeed, this is already
done in many states and would provide real property tax relief while still
allowing us to provide a quality education for our children. There are
many other possibilities for fair formulas, but to date, Trenton has not
tossed anything on the table even for discussion.

In the 2007 Corzine budget, TAXES WERE INCREASED BY $2 BILLION, SPENDING
WAS INCREASED BY 12.5%, PROPERTY REBATES TO HOMEOWNERS WERE CUT, AND OVER $300 MILLION OF "PORK" WAS PUT INTO THE BUDGET.

We, Republicans, although in the minority, offered budget
cuts which were dismissed. The list contained over $2 billion of items
with which most citizens would have agreed did not need to be in the
budget. But these judicious cuts, which would have negated
the need for any new or increased taxes or fees, were ignored by the
Administration and by the press. Several hundred million dollars could
have been saved and still can be saved simply by taking these suggestions.

Lovely Letter I Got From the Gas Company

Jersey City Neighborhood Mourns a Friend

This incident happened a few blocks from one of my buildings, and on the same street…

From the New York Times

By JENNIFER 8. LEE and NATE SCHWEBER

Published: October 31, 2006

Fidelina Claros had steaming coffee waiting for her customers as they came in every morning, just the way they liked it: light and sweet, or black. She had her teenage daughter give rides to neighbors when their cars broke down. She gave free bagels with cream cheese to a high school student who walked by on her way to school, because she believed breakfast was the most important meal of the day.

Ms. Claros was the owner of a corner deli, a mother of three and a generous presence in the Jersey City Heights neighborhood. And yesterday her customers gathered around her store in tears after learning that Ms. Claros, a 47-year-old immigrant from El Salvador, had been shot and killed in her deli on Webster Street around 1:30 p.m.

It is unclear whether she was the victim of a premeditated killing or of a holdup that ended badly, the Jersey City police said.

This was in broad daylight,・said Stan Eason, a spokesman for the police. it was very cold.・

The police were looking for the gunman last night.

Ms. Claros bought the corner store, G & P Deli, about five years ago, and landed in the neighborhood as a whirlwind of charm and compassion, her customers said. Adiana Delarosa, whose mother was a good friend of Ms. Claros, remembered that the deli owner once found a teenage boy sobbing outside her store. He told her he had a drug problem, Ms. Delarosa said, and Ms. Claros helped him find counseling.

Raul Santiago, a regular customer, described Ms. Claros as 田lassy in the sense that she would give you the shirt off her back to help you.・One time, Mr. Santiago’s car broke down and he went into the deli, saying he was unable to get around. Ms. Claros had her teenage daughter drive him to the auto parts store.

Ms. Claros hung a big blue and white Salvadoran flag in her store and chatted with other customers about Latin American politics. She cooked Salvadoran dishes in the back kitchen for church functions and gave away gallons of milk to Gerardo Acosta, a 50-year-old nanny, so he could make Colombian desserts. She jumped in to help with Puerto Rican and Ecuadorean parades, explaining, we’re all the same.

The neighborhood, a mix of apartment buildings and warehouses, wasn’t always the safest. Ms. Claros, who had been robbed twice before, was careful not to keep much money in the store. Customers worried about her being there alone and would visit on afternoons and weekends to keep her company. Joe Andino, 44, a mechanic, lent her his dog, a bull terrier named Capone, to make her ・and himself ・feel more at ease.

She had been trying to sell the store for several months, telling neighbors that she was tired of a business that required her to stay open from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day. She even kept the store open on holidays, in case her customers needed last-minute ingredients for their Thanksgiving or Christmas dinners. Even though her daughter helped out before and after school, it was still a wearying job for a single mother, requiring a half-hour commute each way from her home in Roselle, N.J.

In a statement, Jersey City mayor, Jerramiah T. Healy, called the murder a tragic event.・

Once again, the proliferation of illegal guns on the streets of our city is the cause of yet another loss of life,・Mr. Healy said. the woman who worked in this establishment was hard-working and friendly, and this senseless crime will leave an indelible mark on her family, friends, and the Jersey City community that she served.・

John Holl contributed reporting.

Lakewood landlords sue over code enforcement crackdown

CLAIM: Units rented to Hispanics targeted

RESPONSE: Aim is to improve quality of life

Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 08/8/06

BY JOHN VANDIVER
TOMS RIVER BUREAU

LAKEWOOD, NJ — A group of landlords contends that local building and code inspectors are unfairly targeting rental units occupied by Hispanics and enforcing local ordinances that are unconstitutionally vague, and has asked a court to stop them.

The Lakewood Landlords Association filed a lawsuit in Superior Court July 24 seeking to prevent "unjust enforcement of township ordinances," said Larry Loigman, the group's Middletown-based attorney. The suit names 53 plaintiffs.

"The town is trying to send a message to the landlords that they're not to rent to a particular part of the population," said Loigman. That amounts to discrimination, he added.

Steven Secare, the township attorney, denied that building inspectors are targeting only rentals occupied by Hispanics. He also defended the township's "quality-of-life" ordinances, which Secare said duplicate various national building code standards.

"I'm confident these ordinances are constitutionally valid and will be upheld," Secare said.

The township's crackdown on quality-of-life violations gained momentum last year as complaints piled up from residents upset about neighboring properties. The complaints ranged from frustrations with overcrowded homes to unkempt, overgrown yards, Secare said.

In response, the township hired three additional building inspectors and four more police officers, all assigned to enforce property codes, said Township Committeeman Raymond G. Coles, who declined to comment specifically on the suit.

Collectively, the landlords have received more than 150 summonses from building inspectors. Fines have ranged from $100 to $500 for offenses ranging from overcrowding and failure to obtain certificates of occupancy to poor maintenance, Loigman said.

In one instance, a landlord received a summons for "failure to remove a duck," Loigman said. "We have no idea what that one's about."

As the fines mount, Lakewood is becoming too costly for the landlords, according to Loigman.

"They can't continue to do business," he said.

The landlords' suit says that enforcement of property codes violates the Fair Housing Act, and that while homes with Hispanic tenants are routinely inspected, other properties rarely are.

The kind of landlord I am

A friend sent me this Craigslist post. I don't know who wrote it so I can't give them credit. My tenants are not as bad this guy's, but the thing about the heat and the exterminator hit very close to home, as do the evictions...


Date: 2006-07-21, 10:37AM CDT


1. Responsible for the weather
My building manager called to say one of the tenants wanted a discount for the days it was hot outside. Why? Because it was also hot inside. Their electricity is fine. They could run both air conditioners and fans and keep a supply of popsicles, just like I did in my apartment. My response: Will you pay extra if the weather is nice?

2. In charge of the animal kingdom
A tenant complained about mice. I sent over an exterminator several times. He stuffed steel wool in holes, baited traps, sprayed outside etc. Eventually he refused to go back because the tenant continued to leave open packages of food on the floor and counters. She insisted I was responsible for the problem. As if I commanded the mice to invade her house.

3. Menace to domesticated animals
One tenant was convinced I was poisoning her and her wooly mammoth dog with carbon monoxide. (What will I think of next?) Fire department went over there. Gas company went over there. City of Evanston sent an inspector. Everyone who tested got the same result. No discernable level. She tried to deduct $200 from her rent to pay for her vet bill. This woman also accused me of running a bicycle chop shop in the basement. And wanted me to compensate her for a parking ticket she got in front of my building.

4. Pet killer
I hired a carpenter to fix something. With the tenant’s permission, the carpenter went into the apartment. Apparently the act of opening the door scared the dog. The dog ran down a set of internal stairs, bumped his head and died six weeks later. This story was condensed to “Landlord killed my dog.” There are several neighbors who will not even say hi to me. One of whom made it his mission to make sure my landscaping is always in 100% compliance with arcane City ordinances.

5. Made of money
Tenant asked to break her lease because the price of her anti-depressants went up. No mention of the car she just purchased. Maybe she thought the hint of mental illness would scare or embarass me. She was three months into a twenty four month lease. 24 month lease she specifically asked for.

6. Heartless
Contrary to popular belief, I do not enjoy evicting single mothers at Christmas time. It takes months to evict and the landlord rarely recoups the back rent or court costs. FYI, I do not think it is more important to make your car payment. Thanks for asking.

Please pay your rent on time and remember, I am not omnipotent or an evil genius. A lease is a business arrangement.
And one more thing, why oh why wait until Sunday at 8pm to call and say your heat has been out since Friday afternoon? You call immediately if the microwave burns your popcorn.





this is in or around Evanston