Real Music & Real Estate . . .

Yiddishe Cup’s bandleader, Bert Stratton, is Klezmer Guy.
 

He knows about the band biz and – check this out – the real estate biz, too.
 

You may not care about the real estate biz. Hey, you may not care about the band biz. (See you.)
 

This is a blog with a gamy twist. It features tenants with snakes and skunks, and musicians with smoked fish in their pockets.
 

Stratton has written op-eds for the Wall Street Journal, New York Times and Washington Post.


 
 

IT’S IN THE MAIL

by Bert Stratton

 

Rob, a tenant, owed me $1872 for the water bill, which he hadn’t paid in seven months. He ran a bar in one of my buildings. I called, I wrote, I didn’t get paid. Rob knew my dad.  Rob and I went way back.

I went to small claims on Rob. Did I have any choice? Rob got the letter from court, and called me: “The check is in the mail.”

“Don’t mail it, Rob!” I said. “Hand it to me.”

He laughed.

“What’s so funny, Rob? I’m not a bank. I don’t charge interest on the money you owe.”

“What about the security deposit you’ve had for 33 years?” Rob said. “What was it — $700? It’s probably worth a fortune now.”

Good point.  (I didn’t pay interest to Rob on the security deposit.)  Nevertheless, “Don’t mail it.”

“It’s in the mail.”

It was.

in the mail

“Rob” is a pseudonym.

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2 comments

1 Ken Goldberg { 11.04.15 at 11:03 am }

Lillian won a Small Claims court case in CH – the woman didn’t show up the second time – but she never got the money. She filed something at the Justice Center related to liens but that was about it. Too bad! I probably told you, but I filed a Small Claim against Montefiore, but settled out of court.

2 Dave Rowe { 11.06.15 at 7:57 am }

Hope Rob at least pays his rent on time and the checks don’t bounce.

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