Family Fridays & FF: A Blog Family Interview

It's Family Friday's hosted by...

Keeping up with the Schultz Family 
and The Peterson Family

This week for my Family Friday Post I'd like you to meet a New Member of my Blog Family! I have rented apartments all of my Adult life and It's great to see life from the other side of the Fence. Her Blog is Awesome!! Trust me, her stories will keep you laughing and yes they are all true!!! 


I read her blog for a couple of hours while I was sick.. just going through the archives had me cracking up and feeling better!

An Interview with The Funniest Apartment Manager

Stories from an Apartment Manager

1. On your Blog, in your about me section, you stated you had no plans on becoming an Apartment Manager.  How did you get in the Field?

After I had my daughter I was in desperate search of a work from home position. I did data entry from home for awhile but it was incredibly hard for me especially with my ADD tenancies. Then the apartment complex that I was living in asked me if I would like to be the manager. It was a small complex and they said it would require little to no work(liars!) and I would get paid and get a garage. In Long Beach a garage is like GOLD. So I took it. And the rest is history....


2. How many Apartments do you oversee?

It is one large apartment complex with over 100 apartments. It's a rather large property. As a matter of fact I was walking the property with my gardener one day when I was 37 weeks pregnant with my son and it actually put me into labor.


3. I love how you turned the stress of your job into humor! That's what drew me to your Blog. Was there a turning point, or an event that made you decide Laugh or Sink? If so, what was that event?


I have realized through this job that common logic is a lost art and I found myself getting upset every day over something that someone would say or do. I came to a crossroads where I realized I either needed to quit my job (which I threatened to do daily) or suck it up and find the joy in it. It wasn't until this lady that I decided to not get offended or upset but to just go with it and find the humor. Since doing that I have enjoyed my job immensely. Now, every time someone says or does something crazy instead of getting upset or annoyed I almost want to thank them for providing me and my readers so much entertainment.


4. How long have you been Managing Apartments? Have you stayed at the same place, or were you working at another building prior to the one your in now?

I have been a manager for only four years now. I used to manage a smaller complex in Long Beach in a homeless infected area that was crazy and now I manage here in Orange County. Not the ocean view Mercedes Benz, everywhere type of Orange County but Orange County none the less.


5. Do Apartment Managers get vacations? If so, who oversees your site? Do you come back to utter chaos?


I am actually on vacation right now! When I leave I usually ask a friend to watch the property for me. My phone usually rings off the hook the entire time and I have several tenants who do not believe I should ever leave the property. I usually return to 100 messages, cranky tenants and so on and so forth but it's still worth it :) Although when "Kevin" a tenant who I often refer to on my blog was still living there I had a major incident when I was gone that involved drugs, nudity and the cops.

6. The story about the Incident Report cracked me up the most. Any updates?

Haha! I felt like I had found a pot of gold when I discovered all these incident reports from the prior manager. I have no idea what became of those two. I even asked my boss who has been over this property for 20 years and he couldn't even remember the incident! Which just goes to show how much he has seen over the years.


7. Do you live on site? If so do Tenants show up at your doorstep?


I do live on site. I have an office and lobby right off my kitchen. I always have tenants knocking on my door or window(which for the record drives me bonkers). I once had a tenant just walk on in my front door! 


8. How do you seperate your Work from your Home Life?


That  is a very good question and the answer is I don't. I can't just work from 9-5 it's all random hours and with the office and lobby right off my kitchen it's incredibly difficult to just shut off work when it wont stop calling you!


9. What are the ages of your kids? How are your kids relationship with other Tenants kids?


My daughter is 4 and my son is 2. I live by a strict rule and that is "be friendly to everyone make friends with NO ONE."  The same goes with my kids. Sometimes they will play a little with the other kids if they are out in the courtyards already but I don't make play dates and we don't go to birthday parties, baby showers or weddings or anything other than the occasional "hi" in the courtyards. 


10. You stated you'd like to move when your Husband finishes School. Where would you like to live?


Someplace where I will not have to collect rent once a month:)

Thank you for taking the time to let me Interview you! My sister also oversees various properties, so I definitely believe and find laughter in each story! I have the utmost respect for you tackling such a Stressful job with such a Great Outlook!! I encourage EVERYONE to VISIT THIS BLOG!!!

 Thank you SO much for spotlighting my blog and interviewing me.

~The Apartment Manager's Blog