Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls . . . and the rest of you . . .
I’m happy to announce that the tenant has signed. She’s in.
Move in date is January 1, 2006. I have always known that 2006 was going to be a great year. But to start the "greatness" on the first day of the new year? That completely exceeds my expectations.
I only have three words for you:
MAG
NIF
IQUE!
fter the extensive showing of the houses draws to a close, I see that I have two candidates that have submitted applications and credit reports to me.
Here are the final two:
Dog-Lady: She works at a bank. With practically zero debt, her credit report is nearly flawless. She is scared to death of purchasing any real estate because of the "bubble burst". Her car, a Volkswagen Passat, is in immaculate shape. Her only negative point is that she has a dog. Bee. And dog’s poop.
Fax Man: He stuns me. Without even seeing the house, he has faxed me his entire life story. His credit is stung, which he blames on his divorce. He is moving from Northern California and has a new job in Costa Mesa. He just needs a place to live.
Of the two, I’m leaning to Dog-Lady. She is absolutely enamored with the house and wants it. Because of her dog, she is willing to pay more for a security deposit. I chatted with my Loan Officer and she tells me that I’m going to have to replace the carpet whether or not this lady has a dog. And she’s right. I can get the carpet replaced for relatively cheap.
I have never even seen Fax Man. And because he does have a job in Costa Mesa, which is 30 minutes from Long Beach, I don’t anticipate him staying long. I need to make sure that whomever moves in behind me is there for at least 6 months. Which I think I’ll be able to negotiate.
As long as she keeps the yard area clean (free of dog poop) and agrees to pay higher security deposit, I think we’ll work out just fine.
This weekend was super hectic!
The results: I showed 12 people the house. Two have submitted applications and credit reports. Neither one is the "perfect tenant" but they are both promising.
I make my final decision today.
Stay tuned true believers!
I apologize for my blog being down. I’m checking with other services to see if I can move it.
In my article "Sage Advice", I talked about how I needed to swing my credit score by about 100 points.
I got it to swing 90 points. Not bad eh?
Now I’m operating in another league. NICE!!!
Explanation coming soon . . .
For some reason, I had many many people come and see the house today.
I have received close to 50 phone calls on the house yet no one seemed interested in the house. I figured that I was between two groups. One group want the house but couldn’t afford it. This group has two dogs and the yard is what they want. Denied. The other group has the money but expects top notch housing and want to negotiate the rent. No thanks.
I’m not much of a sales person but I know that I have to become one. Competition around here is fierce and I have to work hard if I’m going to get the rent out of this house that I want to get.
I decided to switch tactics today. Since most of the people were women, I decided to spool out the ol’ "Cliff Charm".
Cliff has charm?
Yes!
When dealing with a woman, guys have to play up on their positive points. Guys, on the whole, aren’t really attractive. There has to be something that hooks the woman and makes her want to investigate the man further.
I can cook. Ohmigod can I cook. And dolled up, I look ridiculously cute. Compared to the typical "landlord" stereotype I have seen . . . which is some grey-haired person with polyester suits with butterfly collars, I’m quite young. Shoot on some Christian Dior and I could give Brad Pitt or Ryan Seacrest a run for their money.
Hey, it’s my blog. Shut up!
I have a chocolate cake recipe I have been dying to try. So I fired it up. As fate would have it, the cake was magically baking at the same time the women came around. Imagine that!! And thanks to the multiple windows in my kitchen, the smell of European chocolate saturated the air in and around the house.
The first woman who came around was stunned to see me in my apron, in the kitchen. I told her "I’m baking a chocolate dessert." like I did it every day. She kept smelling the air while I showed her around the second house. With my relaxed jokes, and Christian Dior cologne, she readily took an application.
Upon leaving the house, she asked me if she should leave the porch light on. My response was "Yes because I have two ladies coming in about half an hour to see the house."
Oh yeah! A little sales pressure!
The next two ladies showed up. Roommates. One of them had no problem speaking her mind. "Is that chocolate I smell?"
Why yes it is.
"Cliff, this is delicious!"
Yes, it is my pretty. Have another piece.
Two more applications went out the door as they were leaving.
Now if you’re saying "Cliff, you’re evil!" . . . all I have to say is ‘Pooh on you!‘ Last time I was at a car dealership, some woman with 4 miles of cleavage rubbed my belly while stroking my pony tail so I would buy a car. And you know what? It worked! I bought the car. And it’s a good thing I did because that car is still with me to this day. Of course I also bought 57 "new car smell" air fresheners.
Yes, I had a pony tail. Get over it.
Yes, I bought the stupid air fresheners. Not 57 though.
Tomorrow, more are coming. What could I make then? Ideas?
