Confessions Of A Property Manager pt 4

11) I feel so powerful when residents actually do what I say. For example: The community is about to have some asphalt repairs done tomorrow. I sent out reminders last night telling them all vehicles need to be out by 7AM tomorrow. I go outside today and see everyone is already mostly out and parked along 51st ave. I'm so...powerful! Dance, monkey's, dance! Mwahahaha. Little do they know there aren't really asphalt repairs to do. I just want to see how many people read my notices... lol! JK.

12) I love when residents bring me food.

13) I love when residents bring me literally ANYthing besides a complaint

14) I love when residents think I am funny and laugh at my jokes

15) I love when past residents come back upset about being sent to collections due to damages and they want to dispute them. So, I send copies of the photos and the actual invoices to my receivables department and the resident ends up owing MORE than I originally charged them! LOL

Guitar

I have been really stressed the last month. The stress is about 99% work related. After a long day of work I come home and just feel drained and miserable. I could turn to alcohol and food but....no, wait, never mind, let's just go ahead and admit I will always do that because I am an emotional eater and have a constant love affair with food.

But my point is that I've started doing something that I haven't done in a long long long looooong time. I picked up my guitar! I stopped playing YEARS ago. Why? I actually do not know. I guess I kinda stopped when I went to college. Perhaps I stopped in high school. I can't quite remember. I suppose I had other things to do. I stopped having the patience, diligence and time that it takes to practice and learn. Heck, I still don't have a lot of patience. I have found the time. Less Netflix/TV. But at least I now have something to look forward during my day. I look forward to coming home from work so I can sit down, release all thoughts of the day and just focus on my beautiful purple instrument. I've noticed that it is very therapeutic to spend all my brain energy on learning a new song. I actually get to focus and think about something that makes me happy.

So rarely am I able to do that. Just be happy, that is. Working does not make me happy. I do not feel an ounce of genuine happiness from the time my alarm goes off in the morning until the time I come home from work. That's not to say that I do not like my job or that I am necessarily unhappy. Because that's not true. I would say I am indifferent. I certainly do not feel that passion or fire the way I thought one should feel about their choice in life work... Anyway, I digress...

I LOVE to sing. Singing is my most favorite thing to do in the world! Since I was a little kid nothing made me happier than to make sounds with my voice. Ask my mother. I was a loud child, whether I was happy or sad. Oh, how I miss singing with a group of people! I would literally get tears in my eyes while singing with other people. I miss that feeling! I feel a hint of that again when I pick up my guitar and sing. I feel that emotion and that passion and I have fun! Every other thought and worry just disappears when I can just pick the notes and sing.

I am going to try to work on my Youtube channel and post some things for fun.

Netflix

Netflix is hands down one of the best things ever invented. Thanks to Netflix I never want to see the light of day!
But, Netflix, what do you mean "are you still watching American horror story?" Uh.....yeah.....I wouldn't just sit here for 3 hours and quit like that. Don't make me bend over for the remote. Why do you do this to me?

Confessions Of A Property Manager pt 3

Let me start this one off by saying I looooove animals. Anyone who knows me knows that I adooooooore animals....

But it really bothers me as a property manager when....

7) a resident gets themselves an animal, whether it's a restricted breed or not, and they bring me in their "service animal" documents that look completely fake. Do I actually do anything about it? No, because I don't have the time to research or argue. Plus, no one wants to deal with the fair housing thing anyway.

8) Oh, is that your service animal I just witnessed urinate on your carpet right now?... And then fast forward a few months to when you move out and wonder why I had to charge you for carpet replacement...

9) Residents are too lazy to leash their animals. Yeah, it's really cute that your dog almost got hit by a car...

10) when residents leave their dogs on their deck. You just know he's going to end up peeing. C'mon, he deserves soft grass to pee on and your downstairs neighbor doesn't deserve a urine shower....(well, I'll determine if they deserve it or not...)

Confessions Of A Property Manager pt 2

Other things that grind my gears in property management:

3) When prospects schedule appointments to tour and they never show up. Especially when they schedule it during my normal lunch break. Even though I've said 'well, I normally take my lunch break then but I would be happy to show you around if that is the time you prefer"..... and being the jerks that they are they say yes, they need that time. So I sit around and wait while my stomach growls....and they never show. Of course.

4) When other apartment communities call for rental verification's and then get in a huge huffy when I don't get it done within 10 minutes.

5) When I'm in an appointment with a prospect and a resident comes in and ignores the fact that I am with someone and starts blabbing about their own issues. They don't even say "Oh, excuse me" or "I'm sorry" or "Do you have time to speak privately for a minute" Nothing like that. Because THEY are number one. Always. Forever. In their dreamland.

6) When I'm on a tour with someone for well over half an hour. And then talk to them on the phone more than once. And then show their family the community. And then correspond via email multiple times. And they never rent. Ever.

Confessions Of A Property Manager

This will be fun. I really need to write down everything that happens daily in my line of work that makes me laugh. This will be ongoing rant so that when I'm retired in 50 years I can look back fondly on these memories

1) When people put in work orders for a long list of things. They want it done NOW. But they don't want you in their apartment unless they are there. They are not currently home. Hmmmm, maybe they will be home in 2 days. Okay let's schedule an appointment for 2 days from now at this specific time that THEY choose. Two days later, we come a-knockin and they don't answer the door. We can't go in because they told us not to. So, we can't get the work done. And then they get pissed that the work still isn't done......

2) When people complain about how they can't pay rent. Or they can't make it into the office to pay in time. First of all, we are open 6 days a week. You can pay early, you know... You can bring it in one, two, three weeks before rent is due. A month in advance. On the 1st. 2nd. 3rd. or 4th of the month! Maybe getting off your butt and coming to the office is too much for you. This is why internet was created. We have a website. Didn't you know? You can pay online with a credit card, debit card, e-check and you can even have it automatically come our of your bank each month. Or you can have your bank mail me a check. The options are amazing! The only thing I cannot do is accept cash. But there's always that one person who makes everything difficult.

They say (but don't really say): "Oh my gosh, Sarah! It's 4:45PM on the 4th, I know rent is due in 15 minutes and I've literally had my entire life to figure this out but I've waited until just now to think about it. How can I pay my rent?"

I say: "Bring in a personal check." 

They say: "I don't have a checking account!" 

I say: "Go get a money order." 

They say: "I don't want to pay the extra money to get one!" 

I say: "Pay online." 

They say: "I don't believe in the internet."

I say: "Set up bill pay with your bank so that they mail it to me each month."

They say: "They will send you a check when I don't even have the money in my account!"

(I say in my mind:"JUST SHUT UP ALREADY. FIGURE YOUR OWN LIFE OUT")

Then they keep on talking "Oh I just can't get there in time. I've had so much going on. My car broke down and my boyfriend cheated on me. My brother's girlfriends sisters cat died and we had to have a funeral in her yard out in Kennewick a week ago and I've just been so busy..... FINE I'll bring rent to you in cash right now."

I say for the one millionth time "I don't accept cash"

They say "WHY?"

(I say in my mind: "Do you even have a brain?")

They say: "Whatever, I'll just figure it out. Can you wait an hour past your shift for me to deliver my rent to you so that you don't charge me a late fee? I'm on my way right now!" (that last part was fluffed up a little bit....)

(I say in my mind "No, you idiot, I'm outta here. It's dinner time.")

I say out loud: "I do apologize but the office closes in 15 minutes. I really must leave but if you can get in first thing in the morning I'll see what I can do"

...So they huff and puff and agree to try really hard to arrive in 15 minutes or to meet me at my office door first thing in the morning to avoid a late fee. Well, first thing in the morning arrives and look whoooooo isn't there, of course. They get a late fee. And they are mad at ME because they are late. 

Repeat this scenario every first week of the month. 

#lifeofapropertymanager

Living Up To The Stereotype

Let me just make some things clear on the blog I posted a few days ago.

I am a woman. I am the stereotypical female. Meaning, yes, I change my mind one million times. Some days I am happy. Some days I am sad. Some days I just don't care about anything and other days I care about everything. It literally takes me hours to decide what I want to eat for dinner....

I hope that none of you think that I am gearing up to leave my life. I AM happy with my husband and our home and our dog and our little life we live. Together we want nothing more than to be able to quit this life and just pack our things and travel to Alaska, Ireland, Italy, England.....and just leave! We BOTH dream of that stuff and we plan do it together.  We have both agreed that we are going to do those things together before we die.

I am crass. I am loud. I am stubborn. I am opinionated. I'm honest. I often do not take the time to filter my thoughts before they leave my mouth. I'm not afraid to let my wet delicates dry out in the open for everyone to see. 

Please don't think that this blog is my cry for help. I'm not in need of a psychiatrist or a divorce lawyer...

My blog is for me. These are my thoughts. MINE. They belong to me. Writing in a diary took too damn long and gave me hand cramps and I kept getting annoyed with every pen that died.....

LIFE IS GOOD. LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL.

Just sometimes I hate it ... LOL

;)

Fitness Pizza in My Mouth

Like, really though.
Fitness is something that I have always struggled with and it is mostly because of my deeeeep love for FOOD! All the food: hot wings, bread, pasta, peaches, anything with lemons in it.... I just want it all. But it makes me sooooo fat! Thank laaaaawwwww that I only drink water! And wine.... And beer.....
I lost 40lbs in 2013. I had an active job where I was cleaning for 5 hours a day at an apartment community. I was eating healthy. I had alllll morning and early afternoon to meal prep and to run. I completed c25k very successfully and started running 3 miles every morning.
Then I moved to Spokane and stopped focusing on running and healthy foods. And my job is to sit at a desk for 8 hours a day and stare at a computer.
I try to go to the gym every day with Josh, but I can NOT stop eating....
Constant battle. Constant.

I Literally Can't Even

2015.
I missed another year and a half of my life.
We left off in December 2013 and now we are here, August 2015.
huh?
I can't even.
Literally.
I am 25 and fixin to be 26 in October.
My dog Bailey is 7 years old.
My husband and I have been married for over 2 years now. I love my husband.
I've worked for my company for 2 years and I like my job.
My life, overall, however, is not my favorite thing. I guess I thought I would be somewhere else. By somewhere else I mean.....just further? Further into the world. Deeper into knowledge. Seasoned. Happy. Settled down but successful. I imagined Josh would be happy in a career by now and I would have purchased my first home and maybe even close to having kids. But we are not near that. We are working towards it but not near it. Josh is awaiting school to start back up so he can finish his last year at Spokane Community College for Aviation Maintenance. We are nowhere near financially ready to buy a house and nowhere close to having kids. I probably won't ever have them, honestly. Every baby I see makes me want to vomit anyway. I do so enjoy the freedom of waking up at the crack of dawn and getting ready for the day by myself. I feel like a zombie in my own life.
Every single night I lay in bed and think about how easier it would be if I just had a few million dollars. Is that too much to ask? LOL. I want to wake up without setting an alarm. I don't want to have to follow a clock. I want to travel the world. I want to have a house in Alaska. I want to be far away from people. From noise. I want my family to happy and to be healthy. I want to adopt animals. I want goats. I want freeeeeddoooooommmmmmmm. Whenever I am not at work I spend my entire time daydreaming about a different life. A different time. I swoon to 1940s music and wish I wasn't even here...


Anyway, What's up with you guys?

;)