A.D. Cantelmo Property Management
Our Business is Property Management in Orange County California
Put the Blinders on when Making rental Decisions
As Property Managers we know that the more information we
have about an applicant for a property the better. We need to be able see the
whole picture when it comes to the financial habits and activity both past and
present, But when it comes to who we decide to rent to, we also need to have
blinders on.
Code of Ethics
When anyone gets a Real Estate license in California, the
first thing that we learn and believe me, it is pounded into us, is that discrimination
is prohibited. It is part of our “Code of Ethics” and if you break that code,
you can take your license and burn it, because you will not have it for long,
and you shouldn’t. But when we think about discrimination, we usually go to the
normal places that people have been treated unfairly in the past and I will not
list those, because we all know what those area’ are.
There are ways that we
can discriminate that have nothing to do with any of the usually issues.
When I was a working as a contractor many years ago, I
needed a new truck and every day after I was through with my job, I would go to
dealerships and look. I had been saving for a long time and I had the cash to
buy. Now since I was working every day, I would go to the dealerships with my
work cloths and of course working in construction, my attire was not always
neat and clean. The response that I received at most of the dealerships was nothing.
I was usually ignored and I would roam around the lot looking at the trucks,
but no one would come and talk to me. One dealership I was in a salesman came
out and he treated me with respect and had no care about the way I was dressed.
I bought the truck from him and down the road I bought another vehicle from
him.
Short sighted Ignorance
Were those other sales people discriminating against me,
because of the way I was dressed and the way I looked? I like to think of it as
short sighted ignorance. They calculated, wrongly, that because I did not look
like I could afford the truck, they should not waste their time talking to me.
The one guy who put the blinders on and treated me with respect made two sales.
This type of discrimination is not always conscious; we all
make judgments on people when we see them, as the old saying goes, “You only
get one chance to make a first impression”. Going back to my truck story, my
first impression at the dealerships was that I was just looking at something I could
not afford and that impression was formed in the sales peoples mind because of
the way I was dressed. It was poor
thinking on their part and they lost money.
Putting the Blinders on
As a Real Estate Broker and all of us in the Real Estate
business, we need to put those blinders on when it comes to people asking for
our help. I can’t tell you how many great Tenants I have rented to, that did
not make a great visual impression. I have rented to many construction people
who came to look at a home right after they left the job. They worked all the
time and could not always go home and change, so they came in their work
cloths. Obviously, I am sympathetic to them, because I have been there, but
they take the risk that someone else may not be so sympathetic. What about the parents who have been taking
care of the children all day and find out about a property for rent and they want
to look before it is gone. They may not have time to get all cleaned up and get
a sitter to watch the kids so they come as they are. I get calls all the time from a potential
Tenants who are interested in seeing a home and I tell them that I was at
the property and if they want they could
come by now. Many times they tell me that they need to get cleaned up before
they come and I tell them not to worry, just come by. I remember one lady
telling me she was a mess and I have to admit I was disappointed when she came
and she was not so messy. I told her that I was expecting a much more grimy
person.
The point is that if we let our first visual impression
effect our decision making process, we may lose a great Tenant. Realtors need
to put those visual blinders on and stick with the information you get in your
investigation process. There is also a lesson for all of us and that is the
first visual impression we make will go a long way how people perceive us. That may not be right, but it is reality
A.D. Cantelmo Property
Management Specializes in Property Management in Orange County
Ca.