Being a Landlord 4, “Of Course, I will clean everything after cooking.........”

On the day my young Indonesian Chinese tenant shifted in, he asked me what rule would apply. I told him, "Not many rules. I want to be a friendly landlord, as friendly as possible. Just in case if you have used my kitchen utensils, you have to clean them." He replied, “Of Course!”

But not more than the first 2 days. The worst case happened 2 weeks before. After he had gone to live with his girl friend, for his whole semester break, I found he hadn’t wash his pot. In the tropic weather of KL, you could imagine how smelly it would become after 1 week. Finally I could not bear it any longer. I opened his door and put his pot into his own room.



This weekend, he learned the lesson. He had cleaned his pot before he left on last Friday, only by poured all the leftovers into the sink.

It is smelly, become very smelly now, which is Sunday night. I have to hold my breath to take this photo. Anyway, I can’t put the sink into his room. Just cannot.


However, I am not saying he is bad or trying to do something against me. If he were living here, he would smell it as well, and would have cleaned it. His room is the nearest to the kitchen. It’s just his habit.



It is normal for male students from rich families. When I was living in UCSI hostel, even very high mark male students, I also saw them poured instant noodles into the sinks of our washroom. They might have up to 10 house maids in their hometown. What needed to care about?


Only we didn’t have 10 house maids in our hostel, in addition the only cleaner would rest on every Sunday. And the UCSI hostel designed as we didn’t have private washrooms, we shared 1 public washroom each floor. Monday morning, the condition was always stunning, all sinks jammed and dirty water rose so high and you couldn’t even wash your hands without touching it.
.
.
(I had posted a reminder on his door before I left on Monday morning. Hope it will make things change next weekend rather than making him retaliate.)

.
.
.

Learn to see others' merits 7

Being a landlord seems to be a much tougher job than i thought. Maybe it is a good idea to recall the landlords I have met in Malaysia and find out what I could learn from others.

One of the good feelings was from a Malaysian Chinese landlord. On the day I visited his apartment in Inda Villa, got another African student wanted to rent the same room as well. The price was almost as the same as a whole unit in Lagoon Perdana and made me hesitate. Finally, the African student got the room.

When we were leaving and the landlord and the African student were going to sign a tenancy agreement upstairs, the landlord kept waiting for me putting on my sport shoes, and insisted to lead me to the lift, though I didn’t rent anything from him.

The feeling is quite nice. He spent extra 2 minutes waiting for me, made me remember him until now.


.
.
.
.
.

Being a Landlord 3, Implied Dissatisfaction

Being a Landlord 3
.
.
This Monday, I lost my family practicing game again.
.
Last week, my young Indonesian Chinese tenant got problem with his memory card, and came to ask me if he could borrow my memory card. I cheated him I didn’t have. Yes, I am a photographer, I must have some memory cards, but these little gadgets are not cheap, mostly more than RM100 a piece.
.
Besides the price, there had been quite a few things he had borrowed from me and not returned yet. All these things I had asked him quite a few times, and he always told me, “I will return to you tomorrow.”
.
Yesterday, he came to my room and requested to borrow my memory card again. I same replied him, “Sorry, I don’t have.” However, he saw my card reader on my table, then questioned me,
“how come you have a card reader, don’t have a memory card?”
.
“Sorry, my memory card is in my school locker.”
.
“I’ve just seen you play your camera, just borrow me that memory card lah~?”
.
“Sorry, that card is for camera use, very expensive and easy to be damaged.”
.
“I just borrow for a while, I will return to u tomorrow.”
.
“Sorry ah~” My main thinking was, why he came to borrow the card cross weekend? If he really planned to buy 1 for his own, he would have used the weekend to buy when shopping with his girlfriend.
.
“Why you are so stingy?!!” To my surprise, my handsome tenant suddenly burst out. “I’d never met anyone so selfish like u!!!”
.
I became very defensive as well, “How come you say that, how many things I lend to you, you haven’t returned to me yet?” “The 5 ringgit I asked you how many times, how come you borrow money for 2 weeks? And my socket, and the rice and oil. You said you would use for only 1 or 2 days, how many days already?”
.
“Ok, I don’t want to talk to you anymore!!” “Shut up! I don’t want to talk to you anymore!!!” He went back his room and slammed his door.
.
.
He didn’t want to talk to me anymore. However, he hasn’t return any my stuffs until now, already Wednesday morning, as well.
.
.
.
It was an unhappy talk. I also became very defensive during the conversation.
.
.
Same as the pretty girl who pestered me for her VU night photos, actually I’ve seen she had changed a lot after VU night. I really had no intension to write a blog to defense myself. And I kept offering her compensating solutions, like a free outdoor photo session special for her around Sunway area. She just kept using heavier and heavier words, like “Stingy!!!” “Selfish!!!”, and ignored all my explanations and my implied dissatisfactions.
.
.
I think a better way of communications is not to use too heavy words. The purpose of communication is to deliver ur message to others and make things done, not to shoot others. After heavy words have been used, the other party will become defensive. When the message receiver becomes defensive, his heart will close, and ur messages will not be able to be delivered.
.
.
(I found my handsome tenant washed all his kitchen utensils this morning, maybe it is a good chance to release the tension created?)
.

.
.
.
.
.

Being a Landlord 2

Being a Landlord 2
.
The guy, who currently renting my small room, is a handsome Indonesian Chinese student from CIMP. He told me he had to buy too many things on the first day he shifted in, something like rice and oil he could not carry. Then he asked me whether he could use my rice and oil for a few days.
.
I answered that he could use my rice and oil for 1 or 2 days, no problem. But not too long, of course, I could not afford.
.
.
It has already been 2 weeks since he shifted in, although I mentioned to him almost everyday during the last week, “hi, xxx, you will buy ur own rice and oil back by this weekend, right?” He hasn’t bought anything back yet.
.
.
As I told u before, there was a rich Indonesian Chinese girl, whose father was an orphan and managed to get his degree by his scholarships and part-time jobs, had written about 4 long-long emails to shoot my cheap dressing and cheap hair cutting. I can feel the peer pressures my handsome tenant facing in his college life. I can understand he is driven by these pressures to purchase rm80 t-shirt and dress his hair for rm100 a month.
.
The calculation could not be simpler: if not dressing up, there will be 20 or 40 girls dislike him; on the other hand, if keeping using housemates’ stuff, only 1 or 2 people from other program will be unsatisfied.
.
.
While I am still trying to find ways to solve the problem, neither to show my dark faces -----_------, nor to shout at him. Because I know, if I did, I would lose all my purposes to become this landlord.
.
(He has left to live with his girl friend for weekend. And these are the rice he left in his rice cooker, my rice. When he is coming back on Monday, all have to be thrown away, I think.)

.
.
.
(After 2 weeks, still only my rice and oil are here, and they are not used in a polite manner.)

.

.
.
.
(The best way I could think out, is keeping gabbing him, politely. If u have any better ideas, please let me know. Thank you very much.)

.
.
.
.
.

Being a Landlord 1

Being a Landlord 1
.
There are many reasons for me to choose being a landlord initially. Cut cost, my living expenses are not always paid on time and after semester commenced, I would have no time to take wedding and event photos around KL to earn some pocket money.
.
Furthermore, my main thinking is, I am going to have my own family, my own wife and children. I need to practice my skills, to make things done and not really need to hurt others' feelings at the same time. Try my best to neither use hot temper nor to show dark face. It will need intensive interpersonal and communication skills.
.
.
In college, the same, I often ask good friends whether they are roommates. They normally reply they are not. Many female students even tell me it is very hard to maintain good relationship with roommates, so they deliberately to choose not to live together. I agree, when some wants to listen to the music, maybe u just want to study. When living together, there will be too many chances for interests to conflict, but who need to give up?
.
And if u were the person always willing to give up, will others try to climb up on ur head eventually?
.
.
I am glad I have some good housemates in SS15 and my EX-college when living in Cheras.
.
However, it has been 2 weeks after being a landlord in my Lagoon Perdana Apartment. it seems, this time, I am losing.
.
.
.
.
.