Being a landlord might seem like an easy job. It provides you with a stable source of income and seems like a perfect method to help you achieve the ultimate goal of financial security. On the other hand, being a landlord has its many downsides. One has to carefully consider the pros and cons before deciding whether becoming a landlord is the right decision to make.
COVID-19 pandemic has left many jobless and made it tough to make ends meet
Both landlords and tenants have been affected by the still ongoing COVID-19 pandemic which left millions jobless and struggling financially as a result.
It makes it more difficult to find suitable tenants. Landlords are also at the risk of getting into financial difficulties due to tenants being late on their rents. Rent prices are now surging after a period of decline at the end of 2020 and the beginning of 2021.
A Lancaster landlord fed up with tenants being late on their rents, found a creative way to remind them to pay up
Only a couple of days after the state of New York has extended the eviction moratorium to the end of August, one landlord in Lancaster attracted attention by spray painting his property in an effort to motivate tenants to pay their rents!
The landlord told local media he was forced to take this drastic step because he was left with no other alternative. He sprayed painted his tenant’s roof with a big inscription that reads: ‘Lisa and Ray owe $11,000 in rent’ and ‘MAGA’
‘I’m not lying, I’m not slandering’
As the word got around, neighbors suggested the landlord may have gone too far but he defended his action saying he was not lying. He owes about 5o property across the county and these are not the only tenants who owe him rent money.
Nor was it the first time Nowak resorted to spray-painting his own property as means of getting the money owed to him.
One of the tenants of a duplex apartment in Livingston Street still owes him $10,000 rent after a fire destroyed the property back in March. He sprayed painted his name and the amount he owes on the front of the building.
‘It’s not helping him’
Nicole, a woman who lives next door to now ruined Livingston St. property said what he’s doing ‘is not helping him. It’s not gonna get him anything’
She called the village’s code enforcement officers several times. ‘He’s defacing Lancaster, not just the houses,’ she stated.
Nowak still claims he has no other course of action.
“I’m guessing it’s like anything else unless you’re in somebody else’s shoes you really don’t know.”
‘I don’t mean to do this to be vengeful’
As for the claims he’s embarrassing his tenants, he responded by saying he doesn’t do it to be ‘vengeful towards the person themselves’ but to protest against the government policy which he thinks responsible for creating the problem.
‘I’m sorry I owe this man that money’
About a week after Nowak sprayed painted his name and debt on the roof, Ray Ross spoke to the media and stated he was embarrassed that he owes rent money.
“I’m sorry that I owe this man that money. But, he shouldn’t do it this way,” Ross told the local media. “It’s been really stressful through this pandemic.”
He said he lost his job back in September and has to take care of his sister who’s a diabetic.
“I was taken care of my sister, and me. All the bills…they all piled up, so quickly.”
Ray also said he applied for rent assistance programs but was denied eligibility. To make matters worse, he says he’s received threats after the story appeared in the media and is now trying to find another place to live.
“They’re saying they’re going to come here and burn the house down and all that stuff. So, it’s been a little nerve-racking since he did this. I don’t feel safe in my own home anymore. And, that’s hard to deal with.”
We sincerely hope the problem can be resolved in a way that’d make both parties happy if that’s possible. What seems certain is that the pandemic has made it difficult for many people to pay their bills and affected the economy as a whole.
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