People are streaming content more now than they have ever done so before. It’s not just that there is more content to be streamed, but now that everyone is working from home or not working at all thanks to the pandemic, there isn’t much else to do. People are streaming so much that Quibi (a content streaming service) became a laughingstock for managing to fail when they had every chance and more to succeed. It’s not the only thing laughable, either. Has anyone else taken to streaming old things and wondering, how did I not realize before that this is awful?
Taking landlord lessons from the musical ‘Rent’ is an uncommon approach, but if you look at it as a ‘what not to do’ guide then it’s a surprisingly valuable experience.
La Boheme
People are streaming content more now than they have ever done so before. It’s not just that there is more content to be streamed, but now that everyone is working from home or not working at all thanks to the pandemic, there isn’t much else to do. People are streaming so much that Quibi (a content streaming service) became a laughingstock for managing to fail when they had every chance and more to succeed. It’s not the only thing laughable, either. Has anyone else taken to streaming old things and wondering, how did I not realize before that this is awful?
Taking landlord lessons from the musical ‘Rent’ is an uncommon approach, but if you look at it as a ‘what not to do’ guide then it’s a surprisingly valuable experience.
La Boheme
‘Rent’ is a musical that focuses on four friends – Roger, Mark, Collins, Angel – as well as their significant others while they balance their art with their income and ability to pay rent. Their landlord is Benjamin Collins III, also known as Benny. It is based on La Boheme, an Italian opera by Giacomo Puccini. The main conflict is their desire to actively avoid paying that rent.
‘Rent’ is a musical that focuses on four friends – Roger, Mark, Collins, Angel – as well as their significant others while they balance their art with their income and ability to pay rent. Their landlord is Benjamin Collins III, also known as Benny. It is based on La Boheme, an Italian opera by Giacomo Puccini. The main conflict is their desire to actively avoid paying that rent.
No Excuses
If you’re going to watch the 2005 film version of Rent, you can do so with a notepad and pen, because there are so many Don’t Do This lessons to be had. Benny has a hard lot inheriting his property and jumping headfirst into its management. Even The Washington Post has stated that Benny “is committed to finding a way to support the arts in a sustainable fashion, and nobody gives him any credit.” As a landlord, Benny is admirable. He makes his ambitions clear and wants to be kind to his friends at the same time
Benny’s biggest mistake from a business standpoint is that he saw this as a chance to help his friends. He should have seen them as tenants.
Rule 1: Don’t rent to friends and family.
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, mixing family with work is asking for trouble, and you’ll need a way out if you try this.
Benny looks at Mark and Roger and sees his former roommates. He got in thinking he could help his friends, which is great, and gave them a full year to save money. The entire show is in New York City – a year of rent is a lot of money. Then he finds out more ways to help.
No Excuses
If you’re going to watch the 2005 film version of Rent, you can do so with a notepad and pen, because there are so many Don’t Do This lessons to be had. Benny has a hard lot inheriting his property and jumping headfirst into its management. Even The Washington Post has stated that Benny “is committed to finding a way to support the arts in a sustainable fashion, and nobody gives him any credit.” As a landlord, Benny is admirable. He makes his ambitions clear and wants to be kind to his friends at the same time
Benny’s biggest mistake from a business standpoint is that he saw this as a chance to help his friends. He should have seen them as tenants.
Rule 1: Don’t rent to friends and family.
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, mixing family with work is asking for trouble, and you’ll need a way out if you try this.
Benny looks at Mark and Roger and sees his former roommates. He got in thinking he could help his friends, which is great, and gave them a full year to save money. The entire show is in New York City – a year of rent is a lot of money. Then he finds out more ways to help.
Benny has a solid plan that would let his friends practice their art, provide housing, while helping build a more stable economy in a low-end part of town. Mark and Roger don’t like that because they just want to stay there for free, because ‘friendship’. Benny learned the hard way that despite admiring Roger and Mark, he does still need to charge them rent.
Benny has a solid plan that would let his friends practice their art, provide housing, while helping build a more stable economy in a low-end part of town. Mark and Roger don’t like that because they just want to stay there for free, because ‘friendship’. Benny learned the hard way that despite admiring Roger and Mark, he does still need to charge them rent.
Rule 2: Always screen your applicants.
Benny probably had an okay idea of his friends’ backgrounds, but that won’t always be the case.
Rule 2: Always screen your applicants.
Benny probably had an okay idea of his friends’ backgrounds, but that won’t always be the case.
You need to know if you’re dealing with a Collins, who can’t keep a job for longer than a year, or a Mark or Roger, who refuse to get jobs in the first place. A lot of trouble could be saved with some thorough tenant screening. None of the main cast are dangerous in a violent way, despite Collins being a proud anarchist. That’s why their credit score and work history are keys to figuring out that they may be friends, but they are high-risk tenants.
You need to know if you’re dealing with a Collins, who can’t keep a job for longer than a year, or a Mark or Roger, who refuse to get jobs in the first place. A lot of trouble could be saved with some thorough tenant screening. None of the main cast are dangerous in a violent way, despite Collins being a proud anarchist. That’s why their credit score and work history are keys to figuring out that they may be friends, but they are high-risk tenants.
You need to know if they have violent tendencies, and you need to know if they have a history of causing property damage. With proper background screening and written criteria, you can find out and refuse tenants like Angel, who puts garbage cans through the front door, or Collins, who steals from ATMs with no guilt. By having it all in writing, you can feel better refusing friends from renting on your property.
You need to know if they have violent tendencies, and you need to know if they have a history of causing property damage. With proper background screening and written criteria, you can find out and refuse tenants like Angel, who puts garbage cans through the front door, or Collins, who steals from ATMs with no guilt. By having it all in writing, you can feel better refusing friends from renting on your property.
Rule 3: Keep things in writing.
If you want to build an art studio that will stimulate the economy and have apartments on top, go for it! In the meantime, when your friends rent from you, keep the lease in writing. By having it in writing, you won’t have nearly as much trouble dealing with problematic tenants. This will help you figure out if and when you can evict them, and give you legal backing along the way when they refuse to listen to their lease.
Rule 3: Keep things in writing.
If you want to build an art studio that will stimulate the economy and have apartments on top, go for it! In the meantime, when your friends rent from you, keep the lease in writing. By having it in writing, you won’t have nearly as much trouble dealing with problematic tenants. This will help you figure out if and when you can evict them, and give you legal backing along the way when they refuse to listen to their lease.
When you’ve found yourself with tenants who think their art is an excuse to not pay rent, you need to have that contract to depend on. Maybe they don’t respect the ‘deal’ so to speak but that writing on the paper means you have the means to get them out of your hair.
As a first-time landlord, Benny from “Rent” made a lot of mistakes. While no one in “Rent” is a spectacular hero, Benny did make strides to use his property to try and improve his neighborhood, but unfortunately, no one told him to be careful about renting to friends and family. We can only hope he learned that lesson and pinned it to his wall as he left the eighties behind and learned to be more careful and strict with who he rented to and when.
When you’ve found yourself with tenants who think their art is an excuse to not pay rent, you need to have that contract to depend on. Maybe they don’t respect the ‘deal’ so to speak but that writing on the paper means you have the means to get them out of your hair.
As a first-time landlord, Benny from “Rent” made a lot of mistakes. While no one in “Rent” is a spectacular hero, Benny did make strides to use his property to try and improve his neighborhood, but unfortunately, no one told him to be careful about renting to friends and family. We can only hope he learned that lesson and pinned it to his wall as he left the eighties behind and learned to be more careful and strict with who he rented to and when.
