The More Things Change, The More They Stay the Same

 by Bill Kessler

That’s the old saying, I think it’s French.

I started in the rental property business a little over 25 years ago. A lot of things in this city were different back then. There were more people and I the population in general was a little younger.

There seemed to be plenty of things to do. There was an active night life. It seemed like there was a bar or night club on every corner.

On weekends the younger ones would cruise main street half the night. On weekends there was still a lot of traffic downtown well past midnight. There used to be a park down by the YMCA and there was a carnival there every year. People would come from all over. Boat night was kind of a big deal. Once again people would come from all over. All that’s changed now.

Other things have changed for the better though. The big river just south of the big bridge used to be pretty trashy. I remember old fishing shacks falling into the water.  Now there are neat rows of expensive condos with plastic siding on them. The black river between 7^th and 10^th streets have undergone a similar transformation. The work that Acheson Ventures has done is a big one too. Wow, a lot has changed.

But some things have changed and changed back. 25 years ago we were just recovering from the Carter years. The economy  was poor. Jobs were scarce especially good jobs. It was hard to borrow money and interest rates were high. I think my first mortgage was 12% adjustable rate with a cap of 18%. Fixed rates were not available.  But there were a lot of houses for sale just like now. And the prices were low. No one was buying. I guess a lot of people like me thought that since nobody wanted these big old barns to live in we could buy them, fix them up and rent them. That worked fine for a while. But just like any business there were some people who didn’t do as good a job as others. Eventually the free market system would have weeded them out but the city government at the time felt like they had to step in. So they enacted a rental ordinance.  I guess that made some difference. I think it hurt the good landlords more than the bad though. We were doing a good job to start with. This new layer of government just got in the way wasting time and money doing unnecessary work while more important things were let go.  While we were making sure there was an electrical outlet on every wall of the living room and a smoke alarm in every bedroom the paint started peeling and the masonry work was crumbling.

So next came the blight issue. It’s hard to say that this is applied fairly and evenly. I don’t think so. I have an elderly neighbor whose fence is falling down and really looks bad. Before I called and complained I would go offer to fix it. But I don’t really have time. The house behind mine has a big pile of brush and junk wood. There is an old boat laying in the yard, not on a trailer, but just laying there in the yard.  But I think the tenants moved out and I see someone over there working on the place. So once again I’m not going to bother anyone about it. 

The second house I bought 22 years ago was up on Armour St . That’s close to Edison Inn. It’s a pretty nice area now but it wasn’t back then. I bought it real cheap because of the drugs and crime in the area.  I was concerned about my personal safety when I first went to work there. I demanded the tenants be evicted before I bought it. Prior to closing every window in the house was broken out. Of course no one saw anything. It wasn’t easy at first to get decent people to live there. I finally found a couple who were just tough enough to wait it out. They were there 17 years. In that time I raised their rent a total of $20. I’ve been working up there for about 5 months now. It was so nice up there in the summer that I didn’t get a lot done. I was also working on two other houses, one at 1506 6^th St and the other at 1708 8^th St. Drive by and look at them. I’m proud of my work and think I’m doing my part to make the city a better place.

Now I have a blight complaint on Armour St from the city. I have absolutely no idea what that’s about but I will drop what I’m doing and deal with it.  Now after 25 years I’m kind of back to square one. The economy isn’t much different than it was back then. And I hope we’re not headed for more ‘Carter years’! I did just buy another house but it’s a block and a half outside of the city. Will I buy any more in the city? I’m not sure. I’m not even sure how much more work I’ll do on the ones I own. I’ll have to decide whether it’s worth it or not. If there’s anything I’ve learned in the rental business is that I should not buy property in a location where the people that I am willing to rent to are not willing to live.