I was extremely fortunate to get a job managing a 42-unit apartment building in the Nob/Russian Hill neighborhood of San Francisco when 1st Brother was about 10 months old. The two previous managers were friends from church. In return for collecting rent, filling vacancies, arranging for repairs/maintenance and generally keeping an eye on things, the owner paid our utilities and let us live rent free in a 1 bedroom/1 bathroom apartment with an enclosed garage space. We ended up staying for 6 years.
Our building's handyman was a memorable guy. I have this picture of him because he has emailed summer vacation photos to me twice since we moved away, which is so sweet and funny:
He took one week off per year and worked like crazy the rest of the time for our building and many others. His Chinese accent was VERY thick, and it was nearly impossible to understand him at first. I felt like I was on a hidden camera show when I tried to decipher his voicemails. 1st Brother learned his name at an early age. He was less than 2 years old when Fang (pronounced "Fong") came to the door with another Chinese worker. 1st Brother looked at one guy, then the other and said, "Two Fangs!" It turns out he wasn't being racist: the other guy was actually Fang's twin brother.
An older couple who had been in the building for 30+ years always wanted to be in their apartment when any work was done because they thought the workers would try to steal their Chinese antiques and vases. She startled me soon after I got the job by calling and telling me while half-crying, "I just finished praying...my legs and sheets are bloody." She went on to tell me they had a pest problem and she was getting bug bites, but a subsequent inspection found no bugs. She had a lot of extreme allergies and sensitivities that kept her house-bound and pretty miserable. Her poor husband--he would talk to me for half an hour when I called, telling the same stories and not letting me get a word in. One day I heard a woman's voice crying out. I walked 3 flights of stairs, finding the wife's coat and then her purse on my way up. I was nervous but able to keep my head because I knew she was kooky by that time. As I got closer, I could understand she was saying, "Help! Heart attack! Help! Heart attack!" Her heart was racing from taking the stairs when the elevator was out, but she was fine.
Because I'm stupid, I once let the girlfriend of a couple who had been living together rent a place in the building when they broke up. They had come to my door together to tell me of the split, and things seemed amicable. The vacancy I had was directly above the one where the boyfriend planned to remain, but things didn't stay amicable - surprise! He came to me with a noise complaint a few months later, saying she was having loud sex with the window open to bother him. (I think I managed not to smirk). She also apparently drained money from their shared account. At one point, I saw a large, stuffed envelope in the lobby addressed to him from TV's Judge Joe Brown. She moved out before her lease was up, and I don't know if the boyfriend pursued the small-claims-court-on-TV option.
I rented an apartment to a young guy who seemed like he would be a good tenant but ended up being a pain for several reasons. One day I got an email about a "health risk of hazardous material being in the apartment from a previous tenant." He'd found a box with a medical supply label and went on for a couple paragraphs about how he Googled the company, called blah-blah agency about proper disposal but he shouldn't have to touch it, etc. Long story short, when we opened the box, it had socks and a decorative wooden carving in it. Ha! When I emailed him the news (keeping things professional even though I wanted to write an "in your face!"-type message), he asked to have the box back so he could confirm the contents. I took these pictures in case he tried anything funny; you never know with a guy like that.
He took one week off per year and worked like crazy the rest of the time for our building and many others. His Chinese accent was VERY thick, and it was nearly impossible to understand him at first. I felt like I was on a hidden camera show when I tried to decipher his voicemails. 1st Brother learned his name at an early age. He was less than 2 years old when Fang (pronounced "Fong") came to the door with another Chinese worker. 1st Brother looked at one guy, then the other and said, "Two Fangs!" It turns out he wasn't being racist: the other guy was actually Fang's twin brother.
An older couple who had been in the building for 30+ years always wanted to be in their apartment when any work was done because they thought the workers would try to steal their Chinese antiques and vases. She startled me soon after I got the job by calling and telling me while half-crying, "I just finished praying...my legs and sheets are bloody." She went on to tell me they had a pest problem and she was getting bug bites, but a subsequent inspection found no bugs. She had a lot of extreme allergies and sensitivities that kept her house-bound and pretty miserable. Her poor husband--he would talk to me for half an hour when I called, telling the same stories and not letting me get a word in. One day I heard a woman's voice crying out. I walked 3 flights of stairs, finding the wife's coat and then her purse on my way up. I was nervous but able to keep my head because I knew she was kooky by that time. As I got closer, I could understand she was saying, "Help! Heart attack! Help! Heart attack!" Her heart was racing from taking the stairs when the elevator was out, but she was fine.
Because I'm stupid, I once let the girlfriend of a couple who had been living together rent a place in the building when they broke up. They had come to my door together to tell me of the split, and things seemed amicable. The vacancy I had was directly above the one where the boyfriend planned to remain, but things didn't stay amicable - surprise! He came to me with a noise complaint a few months later, saying she was having loud sex with the window open to bother him. (I think I managed not to smirk). She also apparently drained money from their shared account. At one point, I saw a large, stuffed envelope in the lobby addressed to him from TV's Judge Joe Brown. She moved out before her lease was up, and I don't know if the boyfriend pursued the small-claims-court-on-TV option.
I rented an apartment to a young guy who seemed like he would be a good tenant but ended up being a pain for several reasons. One day I got an email about a "health risk of hazardous material being in the apartment from a previous tenant." He'd found a box with a medical supply label and went on for a couple paragraphs about how he Googled the company, called blah-blah agency about proper disposal but he shouldn't have to touch it, etc. Long story short, when we opened the box, it had socks and a decorative wooden carving in it. Ha! When I emailed him the news (keeping things professional even though I wanted to write an "in your face!"-type message), he asked to have the box back so he could confirm the contents. I took these pictures in case he tried anything funny; you never know with a guy like that.
The worst experiences I had were with a woman who was an alcoholic and basically drank herself to death during our time in the building. She would yell and scream at people moving in or out for holding up the elevator. When she heard a neighbor might have a mouse, she hung her own signs passing that information along and encouraging tenants to call the manager about it. (I didn't get any calls). She got really worked up when the trash chute was permanently closed and the tenants had to walk their garbage outside, threatening to leave trash at my door when I explained it was the owner's decision and yelling, "Well f--- her!" just before I hung up. She did leave a bag of garbage at my door after that phone call, and I found bags in a back stairwell and cardboard boxes in front of my garage several times. My husband sometimes got involved, and she would cry and apologize and be nice for awhile, but I could usually count on one or two unpleasant run-ins with her per year. About 6 months before we moved, fireman had to be called in the middle of the night to break into her apartment where they found her unconscious. She died a couple of days after that; she was only in her 40s.
There was another awful/sad woman who made things bad for me every once in awhile, but for the most part, people were respectful and kind. I got along well with the owner and was grateful to be able to stay at home with my kids while saving money and living in a wonderful city.
There was another awful/sad woman who made things bad for me every once in awhile, but for the most part, people were respectful and kind. I got along well with the owner and was grateful to be able to stay at home with my kids while saving money and living in a wonderful city.
