Failings of the Reactive Landlord

Second post of the day. I have a problem, and it’s a very common one that all human beings have at some point. It’s procrastination; more specifically, I am more reactive than proactive. In my personal life, the problem can simply be annoying. In my business life, waiting for something to happen before one acts can put the entire business underwater.

In my last post, I talked about dealing with Alfonso. When I decided that I wasn’t going to pay the large amounts of money he asked for, I waited for him to call me before I told him that we need to work out a better deal. Why would I do that? Why wait until someone is ready to do the job before telling him not to do it?! That’s just stupid. Here’s a better example:

When Carver said there was no electricity in one of his rooms, I called Willy's Electricians, the same people who did work for me at property Chi in February. They said they would try to get over there today, but it will most likely be the next day or the weekend due to the high number of service calls they’ve had. Carver calls me about an hour later to say that his brother fixed the problem and the electrician services are no longer needed. At this point, the smart thing to do is to call the electrician back and state that the problem was fixed, but thanks for trying to schedule me in. Right?! Well, I did nothing. I waited and waited until they called to say they are on their way, and that’s when I told them that the problem was fixed. The company tried to sound professional, but I could tell the guy was pissed off. Here he was, trying to squeeze me into a busy schedule and I didn’t have the courtesy to tell him that it was already fixed. Now I look like an asshole and Willy's Electricians will remember this when I call in for another job. With the neglect of a simple phone call, I now have a bad reputation with a reputable company.

The situation with Willy's Electricians. The whole thing with Alfonso. The GGT (Good Guy Trigger) Syndrome with the Africans of Chi. It’s all connected. I have to teach myself not to procrastinate. I have to teach myself not to wait for a situation to get worse before making it better. I’ve been doing a decent job of this when it comes to preventive maintenance, but I have to apply that to my dealings with handymen and tenants alike. This will be my #1 focus when it comes to property management for the remainder of this year and all of next year. A reactive landlord has very little chance of succeeding in today’s economy. The proactive landlord is the one that tenants and repair businesses can trust, and that trust is the lynchpin of any successful business.