
When I first moved back to the Cleveland area from NYC, my first job was as a Property Manager at a depressed property of garden apartments. The setting was beautiful, but the suites themselves left a little something to be desired.
With the limited budget I had to work with, major upgrades were out of the question, but simple upgrades were manageable. We changed the hardware on kitchen cabinets and the tile flooring in kitchens and bathrooms, but my major focus was on cleanliness and that everything be in good working order.............that doesn't cost anything but a little time and elbow grease.
After inspecting a few suites that my staff of two told me were “market ready”, I called them both into the suite and pointed out a few things that were not up to my standards. One of them commented “What to these people expect? This isn’t the Taj Mahal, it’s fine”………………………
"Well I beg to differ with you, but not everyone has the same budget and can afford a Class A Property".
"We’re dealing with clients that have grown up in the ghetto, have worked hard to improve themselves and their lifestyle……………….this is their Taj Mahal!"
It was a very humbling experience. Many times after moving a new resident in, they would come into the office and tell me it was the nicest place they had ever lived.
No matter the price, it may be your Taj Mahal!
Welcome to the first "weigh in" post of 2012 for my group Take It Off In The Rain and to the new format for "Two Lies And A Truth" where Gail C. Harris is my first Featured Guest.
I would just like to remind everyone first that this is the post where you can "weigh in" by leaving your results for the week in the comment section of this post. Who knows, you may be our "Star Of The Week". This morning I tipped the scale at 195.6 lbs. and that's all I'm saying about it, other than it could have been much worse with the holidays and my trip to Cincinnati.
And now......................................Here's Gail:

Once wasn't enough, we're doing Christmas all over again on Saturday!

Since my brother Tony never makes it home for any of the holidays because of his "dog walking and boarding" business, he comes home in January and we celebrate Christmas all over again.
It will be a short visit, but we're all looking forward to seeing him and another celebration. He arrives on Friday, we'll have our traditional turkey dinner on Saturday and once again, open gifts.
On Sunday when he leaves to return to Florida, I'll be going along with him.
Why not, I've got the time and it's another opportunity to see my BARFF, Kathy Streib, which is always great fun when I am in Florida. Hopefully, I'll have a chance to get together with Marco Giancola again. I met him for the first time on my last visit to Fort Lauderdale and we had a wonderful 3 hour lunch at a great restaurant on the ocean.
So who said it can't be Christmas every day?
Well it may not be a big deal to some of you "techies" out there, but I did manage to set up my new laptop today and upload all of my photos and documents. It took me about two hours to do, I didn't think that was too bad.
Okay, it's time for me to "fess up".................I did have to make one phone call to my brother Tony because I couldn't figure out why I couldn't connect to the Internet. One small problem, there was a cable I forgot to connect.
HE LAUGHED.............I SWORE!
I'm sure it will take me a while to figure out a few things, but for all intents and purposes, I'm up and running. There was one other minor issue. My screen was so bright and there was a horrible glare. I went to the Control Panel and adjusted just about every conceivable setting.............still a glare. I was about to give up when I decided to tilt the screen back a bit...............gee, guess what, it took the glare from my desk lamp off the screen.
HEY, I NEVER SAID I WAS THE BRIGHTEST CRAYON IN THE BOX!
HALLELUJAH, MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! I NEED A NAP!


Santa brought me this as a Christmas gift since my computer has been slowly dying on me. It's a modest little machine, but it should do everything I need it to do.
Yesterday I picked up a Flash Drive and transferred all of my documents and photos. Later this morning I’m going to “try” to power up this baby and upload everything.
Wish me luck; we all know I’m “technologically challenged”.
ActiveRain Corp. is not responsible for the accuracy of the site's content (which is written by members of the ActiveRain Real Estate Network) and does not endorse the views of the real estate agents, mortgage brokers, and others listed here.
Powered by the ActiveRain Real Estate Network
© 2013 ActiveRain Corp. All Rights Reserved