Yeah, you’ll love it, it’s a real shit-hole

Is he going to keep quoting that same movie? He’s really running it into the ground.

Let’s set the scene. Here I sit in my little office. The pale green walls and fake plants stare blankly back at me. Just over one hundred units look to me for attention. They need to be redone, filled, or collected from. The complex itself really isn’t that much of a shit-hole, it’s more the location that is shitty.

And his language is atrocious. Does he have to keep cussing?

I have worked hard to up the clientele level, so to speak. But I’ve come to realize that there is only so much you can do when you have to drive past two of the largest housing projects in the city to get here. Sure, sure, I’m close to a few local universities, on the bus route, and within easy access to an interstate highway. The challenge continues to be just getting good people to even come here and consider us.

Is he going to continue doing this external dialogue? It’s really quite distracting.

The apartments are clean, the rent is cheap, but that doesn’t help the three most important things in real estate: location, location, and location. So I end up with a mix of people. I have the young people who are just starting out in life and this their first apartment. This includes the college students who are looking for cheap off-campus housing. Then there are the professionals who aren’t around much, they just need a simple little place to crash. The rest are what I call the neighborhood people. This has nothing to do with race or ethnicity, before you start waging your finger and calling me names. Besides, piss off, you don’t know me. Sorry, didn’t mean to snap at you. I’m laid back and edgy, it’s a strange combination I admit. I never used to be on edge, I think this job has done it to me.

Where was I? Oh, the neighborhood people, yeah. These are people who have lived in this area for a while, if not most of their lives. They bump from complex to complex as they get sick of the place or are kicked out. Some are on disability, some are not. The only real trouble with them is whom they choose to associate with. Now, the young people can be guilty of this from time to time because, well, they are young and dumb. But the neighborhood people are notorious for this, and one would think that they would eventually catch on after being kicked out of their last apartment. This is not the case however, as history has a way or repeating itself, repeating itself. They end up hanging out with the un-rentable neighborhood people. You know, the abusive ex (or current) relationship; the drugged out friend or relative; the girlfriend who turns tricks for extra cash. And when I say tricks, we’re not talking about sit up and beg (although maybe for the right price, if that’s what you’re into).

These are the people who help keep my life interesting. By interesting I mean the grey streak in my hair is getting bigger. Stay tuned and maybe I’ll spin you a story or two.