the fear of little Chinese real estate investing men
About two blocks away from my apartment there's a house on a corner that I'd like to buy. A house, and then a 4-plex behind it, all on one property. Only one of the four possible directions you can take from my apartment leads to a neighborhood safe to live in. But what this house on the corner lacks for in safety it makes up for with the convenience of living fifty feet from a liquor store.
And not every cop can say they bought a property to live in with a bullet hole in one of the windows... oh, and with one other window busted out from a recent burglary... and... well I got the feeling that the people in the front house, the people I would have to kick out if I were to live there, the people who have lived there for fifteen years, are very connected to the street... and know plenty of young Hispanic men who do lots of weight lifting and have tattoos on their faces and who would love to visit me if in fact I did kick them out of the house. I was quite literally scared of them. I own guns and work in a place where it's not unheard of for people to walk non-chalantly up to anyone wearing the uniform I wear and shoot them... and I was scared. I can't imagine how the little Chinese real estate investing men must feel when they come to look at the house and see the sort of tenants that inhabit the place.
It's not hard to understand how gangs run neighborhoods. If mean looking guys hang out on porches long enough watching anyone who comes along their streets, it's not long before those guys can subtly suggest things to the people around there and expect that no one will disappoint them. They're good at intimidation.
But what the hell. If I can get the financing, I guess I'll still buy the place and kick out the tenants. It could be fun to get into a gang war... or rather a gang vs. one white guy war. I'll eventually lose if it comes to that. Eventually they'll drive by and shoot at me and I'll move out. Still, I bet I'll get some good stories to blog about before it comes to that.
And not every cop can say they bought a property to live in with a bullet hole in one of the windows... oh, and with one other window busted out from a recent burglary... and... well I got the feeling that the people in the front house, the people I would have to kick out if I were to live there, the people who have lived there for fifteen years, are very connected to the street... and know plenty of young Hispanic men who do lots of weight lifting and have tattoos on their faces and who would love to visit me if in fact I did kick them out of the house. I was quite literally scared of them. I own guns and work in a place where it's not unheard of for people to walk non-chalantly up to anyone wearing the uniform I wear and shoot them... and I was scared. I can't imagine how the little Chinese real estate investing men must feel when they come to look at the house and see the sort of tenants that inhabit the place.
It's not hard to understand how gangs run neighborhoods. If mean looking guys hang out on porches long enough watching anyone who comes along their streets, it's not long before those guys can subtly suggest things to the people around there and expect that no one will disappoint them. They're good at intimidation.
But what the hell. If I can get the financing, I guess I'll still buy the place and kick out the tenants. It could be fun to get into a gang war... or rather a gang vs. one white guy war. I'll eventually lose if it comes to that. Eventually they'll drive by and shoot at me and I'll move out. Still, I bet I'll get some good stories to blog about before it comes to that.
posted by james t nath at 12:32 AM
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