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Login to post Forums » Off-topic discussion » So I was working on the Miata

Aug. 23, 2009 4:53 p.m. confuZion3 SuperDork

I was down in the garage working on my Miata today when somebody came down (who I think might have been one of the owners of the apartment complex) and snapped a picture of me and my brother (who was putting lights on his motorcycle). He didn't say a word and he didn't seem to be too nice. As he was leaving, he stopped right outside of the garage in his car and I think he snapped a picture of the door that goes into the apartments which my brother had propped open. (I yelled at him for this)

I've met a guy who claims to be "the owner" of the building. I have no doubt that he is an owner, but maybe there are partners involved and we pissed one off. The guy I met before always tells us to make sure we clean up after ourselves, but he doesn't seem to have any problem with us doing what we do. He also told me not to leave the door to the building opened (I don't anymore).

The garage floor is pristine in our area which is more than I can say about any other spots. What could this guy do? I'm a little concerned, to be honest, but I work in real estate and I think it's pretty hard to evict somebody when they aren't really doing anything wrong.
Aug. 23, 2009 5:00 p.m. Morbid New Reader

There may be a clause in your lease that says you can't do vehicle maintenance on complex property. If that is the case, they can fine you or evict you because you have, technically, broken your lease.
Aug. 23, 2009 5:33 p.m. confuZion3 SuperDork

Hmm. I think I read the lease, and I don't think that was in there. I will check tonight when I find my copy.

Thank you.
Aug. 23, 2009 7:09 p.m. MrJoshua SuperDork

Carry a camera with you and next time you see him take a picture of the guy, then something nearby to ID the location. Why? No reason other than to make him paranoid and amuse yourself.
Aug. 23, 2009 7:15 p.m. mpolans New Reader

Morbid wrote:

There may be a clause in your lease that says you can't do vehicle maintenance on complex property. If that is the case, they can fine you or evict you because you have, technically, broken your lease.

This is probably it, especially if it's a form lease. Most form leases that I have seen have a clause like this in it. Of course, it takes a special kind of prick to enforce such a thing if you're not causing a mess or leaving an inoperable vehicle around.
Aug. 24, 2009 1:17 p.m. alex HalfDork

Landlord = special kind of prick.

I'd put the kibosh on future mechanical work in the garage until you see what comes of this.

Read the lease. Get a lawyer.
Aug. 24, 2009 3:00 p.m. triumph7 New Reader

alex wrote:

Landlord = special kind of prick.

I'd put the kibosh on future mechanical work in the garage until you see what comes of this.

Read the lease. Get a lawyer.

So I"M THE PRICK????? What about people that destroy my property or skip out without paying rent or toss garbage all over the laundry room or let water leak all the way from the third floor to the first? How many times have you stolen light bulbs out of the hall lights because you're too f-ing lazy to buy your own. If you had any concept of what a good landlord does then you might have a little consideration before you run your mouth! Sure there are bad landlords, I've got a couple people in my properties that came from a place that ended up being condemned be the city but think of the SH-T the rest of us have to put up with from RENTERS!
Aug. 24, 2009 3:18 p.m. Strizzo SuperDork

In reply to triumph7:

who the hell are you anyways? i'm not sure where you usually post, but that kind of attitude is not tolerated here. obviously these guys weren't stealing light bulbs or trashing the laundry room.

yes, the landlord is a special kind of prick because in this case, a quiet word about how it is frowned upon to work on cars in the garage and you might get fined would probably do fine. instead he takes a picture so he can prove it happened and try to get some extra money out of this.
Aug. 24, 2009 5:30 p.m. billy3esq Dork

And Strizzo knows a thing or two about prick landlords.
Aug. 24, 2009 6:04 p.m. Morbid New Reader

Triumph- Take a deep breath and back away from the keyboard, seriously.
Aug. 24, 2009 11:10 p.m. alex HalfDork

Those renters are there because you chose to rent to them, friend. They didn't just show up and move in. If you're unhappy with the quality of your renters, screen them better.

Sounds to me like the OP is one of the good ones, and one of his landlords knows it, and looks the other way on the car/bike maintenance. The other one sounds like he fell from your tree.

I know from landlords and tenants. I've lived with good ones and bad ones, and I got sick of renting because the good ones didn't outweigh the bad. Lest ye forget, we good tenants have to live with the bad ones, day after day. I got tired of it, so I left: bought a house. No more bad landlords with lax screening or fellow dirtball tenants to deal with.

Sounds like you're a little frustrated. Maybe you should think about a line of work that doesn't involve the general public.
Aug. 25, 2009 12:11 a.m. triumph7 New Reader

No, I just don't like being painted with somebody's broad brush when I work very hard to provide a nice, clean safe place. I take a lot of pride in the work I have done to the building since I bought it in February. For the history, I took over a building that had been ignored for 3 years by a drug and booze addled moron. Since then I have been cleaning house, literally. My days to this point have been, drywalling, laying tile, painting, plumbing, replacing cabinets and counters. The tenants that were there when I took over were pigs (that's being very kind). My incoming tenants are good people, all word of mouth referrals. Any frustration I have is with somebody on a forum that basically calls me a prick just because I own a building and would like it kept nice while making a few bucks.

And to beat all, the original poster doesn't even know if he has a problem or not yet!
Aug. 25, 2009 12:23 a.m. triumph7 New Reader

Strizzo wrote:

In reply to triumph7:

who the hell are you anyways? i'm not sure where you usually post, but that kind of attitude is not tolerated here. obviously these guys weren't stealing light bulbs or trashing the laundry room.

yes, the landlord is a special kind of prick because in this case, a quiet word about how it is frowned upon to work on cars in the garage and you might get fined would probably do fine. instead he takes a picture so he can prove it happened and try to get some extra money out of this.

Who am I? Somebody that has probably been around here longer than you.

Secondly, Alex did not say THE landlord or THAT landlord was a prick. His statement was very broad and final.

Third, nobody knows who the mystery photographer was and no action taken against the OP.
Aug. 25, 2009 12:34 a.m. joey48442 SuperDork

Actually, triumph, I agree with you on most points but I think strizzo has you beat buy one day!

Joey
Aug. 25, 2009 12:39 a.m. triumph7 Reader

Joey, the "date joined" doesn't account for time before the transition to the new board. That was lost and we all had to create new profiles.
Aug. 25, 2009 12:47 a.m. oldsaw Reader

triumph7 wrote:

Strizzo wrote:

In reply to triumph7:

who the hell are you anyways? i'm not sure where you usually post, but that kind of attitude is not tolerated here. obviously these guys weren't stealing light bulbs or trashing the laundry room.

yes, the landlord is a special kind of prick because in this case, a quiet word about how it is frowned upon to work on cars in the garage and you might get fined would probably do fine. instead he takes a picture so he can prove it happened and try to get some extra money out of this.

Who am I? Somebody that has probably been around here longer than you.

Secondly, Alex did not say THE landlord or THAT landlord was a prick. His statement was very broad and final.

Third, nobody knows who the mystery photographer was and no action taken against the OP.

Twelve minutes after you claimed the OP doesn't know if he has a problem, you "know" there's no impending actions by the landlord.

You're either clairvoyant, the landlord, or realize you reacted irrationally.

Step back, take a breath and concede that tenants are your customers. Treat them right, respect them and you'll likely find they'll willingly do "right" for you.

If not, nail them!

Just sayin.
Aug. 25, 2009 3:58 a.m. NYG95GA SuperDork

There's plenty of blame to go around in the landlord/tenant arena. There are good landlords, and there are bad. There are good tenants, and there are bad. Most fall somewhere in between.
Aug. 25, 2009 9:01 a.m. joey48442 SuperDork

triumph7 wrote:

Joey, the "date joined" doesn't account for time before the transition to the new board. That was lost and we all had to create new profiles.

ah. Didn't think about that. Makes me wonder when I joined exactly. I remember asking about the price on my first Miata, and I got that back in may 03. Ug...I've known some of you people longer than my wife! Anyone got a link to the old boards? I remember at least three different boards.

Joey
Aug. 25, 2009 9:08 a.m. Clay Reader

It was probably a neighbor who was looking for some evidence to send to the landlord. I had a few like this at our old place. I owned a condo in an 8 unit complex and I did some work on my car that wasn't always in line with the HOA agreement. I was very kind to those who parked by me and even mentioned a few times how I hoped it wasn't an inconvenience. Still, there are always those neighbors looking to nail you on something. I don't see why a landlord would need a camera. He could just send a letter stating it as fact. The pictures imply someone wanted to alert someone else to his actions
Aug. 25, 2009 11:42 a.m. mad_machine UberDork

triumph7 wrote:

No, I just don't like being painted with somebody's broad brush when I work very hard to provide a nice, clean safe place. I take a lot of pride in the work I have done to the building since I bought it in February. For the history, I took over a building that had been ignored for 3 years by a drug and booze addled moron. Since then I have been cleaning house, literally. My days to this point have been, drywalling, laying tile, painting, plumbing, replacing cabinets and counters.

I wish my landlord was like you. Mine keeps the place JUST this side of livable. Everything that has been done to keep it nice has been done by me. This includes fixing the roof and several leaky windows. My Landlord's reply as always been "it's a new roof" or "they are new windows"
Aug. 25, 2009 5:14 p.m. Appleseed HalfDork

Wow, this thread got weird quick.

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