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Goodbye Summer Rentals!

9/08/2011 06:07:00 PM by Tina Macaluso
When the summer season ends, so does the weekly tenants for our three vacation rentals. After this, our income takes a dive. Enter phase two, scrambling for winter rentals. The weird thing about Cooperstown though is that we have had pretty good luck with finding nice tenants for the winter season. Each year from Sept. - May we have people stay for a variety of reasons. Sometimes someone is building a home, sometimes they are interning at The Hall of Fame, some are traveling nurses at Bassett Hospital. There are lots of different reasons why someone needs a home for only 8 or 9 months. 

This past week we got a call from one of these people. George was going to meet him to show him the apartment on Saturday. Since this person was going to be living next door to me for the next 9 months, I had a lot of questions. Now George, always ready to pimp out our places, had asked all the right questions before he was to meet him. But the problem was, he got all the wrong answers AND he was still showing him the place. He was going to give him the benefit of the doubt. I on the other hand was not!

Questions:
Where do you live now?
"NYC."

Why are you coming up here?
"I need to relocate."
    Okay.......hmmm......

How will you pay the rent?
"I get a check from social security."
    Sounded pretty young to get social security.

Can it cover the rent?
"No, but my mother also gets social security and she will be living with me."
    Your... mother. Wow.... this is looking... better by the minute. You did say... your mother, right?

Can that cover the rent?
"No, but my wife is a model."
    A model... Of course, she is.   

Well what is her weekly salary?
"Well... nothing right now. She is pregnant."
    Well, there now, it just got worse.

So how do you plan on paying for the rent?
"I have a website that could bring in $4,000/month."
    COULD bring in $4,000, not DOES bring in. I COULD win the lottery this month too.

What is the website?
"You could go to my website to see what I look like - www....... "
    (as he was saying it, I was typing it in. What a surprise! There was no such website!)
    No, not really a surprise. But boy was I curious to see this guy.

You know we are renting the place weekly starting June 1st, so you would have to vacate by then?
"Oh yes, we are going to buy a house and move out by then."
    Because that $4,000/month website is really going to help with that deposit on a house!
 
Now all of this and George was still planning on meeting him. Could any tenant be worse! He actually had me type up a new contract to bring with him. With added reasons why someone could be evicted! One of the reasons was - "If there is excessive yelling, this is reason for eviction." LOL, excessive yelling. You think these people are going to be fighting and you still want to meet him? Can't cover the rent, husband and pregnant wife and mother in law in same apartment = possible fighting, non-existent website, relocation, no real reason to ever leave. Now if these aren't red flags. Forget about red flag, this was a freaking rainbow colored flag flapping in George's face. 

So here I stood in my pimp of a husband's way, with my "No way, this is where I draw the line!" look on my face. Well actually it was more than a look. I think I said the word NO about 20 times in 5 minutes. But he's used to that.

"You know I gotta be honest with you. This really doesn't look good, and it would probably be better if you found another place," George said. Thank you George!

It's a long cold winter up here, and I think these neighbors/tenants were going to make it a lot longer!


6 comments

Hello! Hello!

9/02/2011 05:55:00 PM by Tina Macaluso
There are long hours with being an innkeeper. The day starts at 6:30 am and sometimes it doesn't end until 11 pm. There are specific jobs to do throughout the day, but you are "on call" all day long for other things like directions, restaurant recommendations, etc. Now don't get me wrong, I have no problem with helping people for legitimate reasons. George and I both enjoy talking to all our guests, but the "Hello, hello" people, well, they are another story. These are the people who come in at the most inconvenient times (dinner, laundry or finally just sitting down for the night). These are the people that just want to let you know..... They have no questions and really no reason for coming in. They just want to let you know.... 

We are always upstairs when this happens and hear someone yelling for us to come downstairs...

"Hellooo. Hellooo."

We come downstairs and into the lobby.

"Hello, hello... Just getting some tea."
   Did you want to know if I wanted any?? Why are you telling me this?

"Hello, hello... Just picking a different movie. My wife already saw this one."  
   Oh, ok, did you want me to help you decide on a movie? I liked "I Love You Man."

"Hello, hello... Just wanted you to know that we decided to go to that other restaurant."
   Why? What was wrong with the first restaurant? Let's discuss this before you leave.

"Hello, hello... Just wanted you to know that we're gonna take that other road into town."
   In case you come up missing? Phew, now I can direct the police in your direction, thanks!

"Hello, hello... Just wanted you to know that we are leaving for dinner."
   Oh, are you asking me to come with you? No thanks, I was just sitting down... to eat my own dinner!

"Hello, hello... Just wanted you to know that the toilet paper in the lobby bathroom was running low."
   Not out! But low. I'll get right on that!

"Hello, hello... Just wanted you to know that my sons were going to play a game of chess in the lobby now."
   Ok, do they need me to watch?

"Hello, hello... I just left my key on the front desk."
    Oh thank you for telling me, now I can I safely put it in the drawer.

or alternately

"Hello, hello... I am going to leave my key in the room when I check out."
   Oh, I'm glad you told me. I would have worried that you were one of those "non-checking out guests" (like in my previous blog). 
 
With 12 rooms of people there are bound to be "Hello, hello" people here a few times a week. And yes, all of the above have been said to us at least once, and some of them many times throughout the years. But we always try our best to walk into the lobby with a smile on our face and say "Hello! Oh thank you for telling me."





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