Is it really a wonderful life as a landlord?

[Michael Guzik]

Hey guys so last night I watched It's a wonderful life. Now being involved in real estate and thinking like an investor I saw the movie in a whole different way. George was a very lenient person and cared about the people and was very compassionate and understanding doing his best to help people live in the home of their dreams. However he gave a lot of people breaks and wasn't too stern with them on payments. On the other hand there was Mr. Potter who only cared about the numbers, not the people, and would always ask George "Are you running a business or a charity George?" I think this is where we begin to see what a "slumlord" is and why people always saw Real estate investors or landlords in a negative way. This is a mentality that people have had since the 1940's! My question is for those of you who have seen the movie, and if you haven't shame on you, who should I be like as a landlord? Should I care about the tenants and be understanding or should I only focus on the numbers and say pay up or get out? Is there a grey area or is it clearly defined? Thanks for reading and Merry Christmas!

[Patrick M.]

I bought my buildings from "George." He was very lenient on when he expected the rent, very understanding of irresponsible behavior and in turn he expected the same from the tenants. He owned the buildings for just short of 20 years and they spiraled down hill as the quid pro quo of irresponsibility fed off of each other. When it came around to cleaning house and clearing out the ne'erdowells you couldn't imagine how they bad mouth him. So all his understanding got him nowhere.

I give my new tenants a pristine apartment in an extremely desirable neighborhood. I am very responsible as a landlord and I fully expect my tenants to be.

People don't realize that it is the Georges who are the slumlords. The landlords who are responsible and dedicated know that they must demand the same from their tenants for their buildings to be a desirable place to live for responsible people and for their investment to grow in value. The slumlords don't care.

The people in my buildings don't want to live next to irresponsible people. 

I love being a landlord- it is a wonderful life.