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Neither unit in the building had been re-rented. It appeared to have been vacant for some time. The "for sale" sign was down (whether the building was sold or just taken off the market is unknown -- the city website still shows my old landlord). Three notices taped to the door -- weed abatement, litter/debris abatement, and a code violation for an upper balcony. A box of stuff I left for a freecycler was never picked up and was still on the porch (I dragged that to the curb, so it'll either be scavanged or picked up by the garbage hauler).
I moved out in April.
I bet if I still had a key, I could have gotten in.
This is a $325,000 building (in a market where $325,000 can buy a lot of building). My landlord was collecting about $1,600 in rent (he bought the building for next to nothing about 15 years ago), and he could have been collecting $2,500 if he fixed up the units (mostly cosmetic, too) and was able to charge market rent. He could even get more if he fixed the attic into a two-bedroom apartment (the attic already had two bedrooms, roughed-in plumbing, and a big common area that could easily be converted into a kitchen and living room -- all it would need is fixtures, a re-routing of the entrance from within the upper unit into the common hallway, and a fire escape).
Why would a seemingly intellgient property owner let his property go to waste like this?
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