That one conversation with a landlord that still bugs me 2 years later

I was at Eastern Market grabbing coffee after a delivery run, and this guy in a suit starts talking to me about his vacant building on Gratiot. He said he'd rather keep it empty than lower the rent by $200 because 'it sets a bad precedent for the neighborhood.' I asked him how long it had been sitting, he said 14 months. Meanwhile there's like 4 small businesses in my network looking for space under $1500 a month. Has anyone else run into owners who'd rather lose money than make a fair deal?

2 comments

2 Comments

ruby_henderson365d ago

Wait, he was okay with it being empty for over a year just to hold the line on pricing? That's insane. That building is costing him property taxes, insurance, and probably maintenance every single month it sits there. Plus he's losing out on 14 months of rent at whatever price he wanted. The math just doesn't add up to me, unless he's rich enough that the loss is a tax write-off or something. It's tough seeing spaces stay empty when there's actual people and businesses ready to fill them.

wren6385d ago

Not sure I totally agree with that take, @ruby_henderson36. Sometimes holding out for the right price makes more sense than taking a loss on a tenant who'll trash the place or skip out on rent a few months in.