I don't know if I can tell this story as funny as it appeared, but I'll try.
I live in an older neighborhood in a 'college town'. Rental property is a lot better proposition here than most places. If you can sleep there and park a car, you can get $600 a month whether it's a healthy place to be, or not.
There is a local slum-lord, I'll call him Andy, that owns at least 50 rent houses in town. Andy is about my age and actually inherited all his properties from his now deceased insightful mother. I'm sure he does alright.
Andy has the corner intersection by my house "tied down"..meaning he owns almost everything in sight. One of his houses close by has a large double car and detached garage behind it that he uses for his "landlord needs" and storage. He's always stopping by there two or three times a day.
There is also ONE house in the middle of all his "enclave" that Andy does not own. It's owned by the guy that lives there, also around both Andy's and my age. Andy and him have a long-term hate-hate relationship. Andy has tried to buy him out several times, but the old boy would rather burn his house down than sell it to Andy. They've argued over fences, tenants parking, trees...they'll argue over the color of the clear blue sky if you give them enough time. They don't even look each other's way nowadays.
Well, yesterday morning in the drizzle I hear an emergency vehicle stopping very close by. At my age and the age of most of my neighbors I get interested. I trotted outside to be the obligatory "nosey neighbor standing in the yard". It was around the corner and I really couldn't see. But I did see Andy pull up to his shop, throw his truck in park, and run down the street like his pants were on fire. I thought there might have been an auto accident. I walked down to see around the corner.
Well, by golly, the ambulance had pulled up in front of Andy's nemesis's house! Andy wouldn't walk across the street to pee on this guy, and here he is (all 300 pounds) running down to this guy's house like it was a close relative.( I hope he had his checkbook on him.)
I guess a slum lord should always be watching for that golden moment he might be able to pick up some property at a good deal...
Next time I see Andy I'm going commend him for his "ambulance chasing" talents. :snarky:
