By James Picco Santa Monica
In her Sept. 13 “Days On the Market” column, Jodi Summers writes that she’s learned of “an excellent suggestion on how to deal with tenants.” The advice is: Don’t tell the tenant you’re the landlord.“Instead, refer to yourself as the ‘property manager.’” Then, if the tenant has a request, “You can say, ‘I’m just the property manager so I will have to check with the owner.’ That gives you time to think and to pass the buck if the answer is no.”
It seems to me that this ingenious gambit might also work for tenants. The advice would be: Don’t tell the landlord you’re the tenant. Instead, refer to yourself as the “houseguest.” Then, if the landlord asks for the rent, you can say,“I’m just the houseguest, so I will have to check with the tenant.” That would give tenants time to think and to pass the buck if the answer is no.
All kidding aside, I was surprised that as a realtor at Boardwalk Realty, Ms. Summers endorsed dishonesty so openly. I would have thought that Boardwalk wouldn’t wish to be associated with an unsavory business practice that Ms. Summers describes as “excellent.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 27, 2006. Read the original PDF.