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Free Housing and Utilities For Life!
By Naomi Jiles of BNJ Enterprises
As an Onsite Manager of two subsidized apartment managers for seniors, I am sometimes asked how I got into this business. To many people, I'm sure it must look like an ideal job. After all, in this economy, when so many are struggling to make their paychecks stretch to cover escalating costs: housing, utilities, health care, and all other bills, to realize that there is a job which provides many of those benefits, for FREE, it seems like an ideal goal to aspire to. THE PERKS OF MY JOB:
Free rent on a two bedroom, two bath apartment.
All utilities are paid, including cable t.v.
Medical, dental and life insurance.
404b retirement plan.
A 4 day work week.
Three weeks of PTO (Paid Time Off) each year. This includes vacation, sick leave, and/or grievance time. I'm not even required to explain why I'm taking the day off.
Being able to share your whole day with your life's partner.
Plus - a salary that is definitely nothing to sneeze at, well above median salary for our area. With all that, it's easy to see why many people think this is a job they would love to have. But, as with just about any situation you can name, things may not always turn out to be as they first appeared. THE CONS:
My husband and I are partners in this position. I am Manager and he is Building Superintendent. We love working together, and consulting each other in decision making, but there are some who would not like this arrangement. So that can be viewed as a positive or a negative, depending on the couple.
It's hard for someone to understand the huge amount of stress and responsibility we juggle, but I'll try to summarize:
The two nine story buildings are owned by the City, and are intended for low income seniors. The buildings are "Independent Living" which means that there are no services such as nurses, housekeeping, meals etc. And of course, there are often problems that come with aging.
We supervise a staff of 10 full time employees and a part time social worker. It's a very busy, chaotic office, with 5 women juggling several phone lines and a constant stream of people who are not always easy to deal with.
There are truly many unexpected problems to be encountered in the housing industry. To name a few: vendor and staff issues, some poverty, language barriers, dementia, depression, substance abuse, gossiping and rumors, thefts, vandalism, this list goes on and on. In previous management positions we've held, we had to go to court on several very messy evictions. We've had our lives threatened, and my husband had a knife pulled on him when he confronted a thief. It's not the type of job that makes you popular!
So, if after getting a glimpse into some of the problems that are encountered in a job such as mine, if a person still wanted to discover how to enter the Apartment Manager field, I offer the following few suggestions: It's usually necessary to have experience to be hired in a larger Apartment Management. The way to get that experience is to begin by obtaining employment at a very small complex as a leasing agent, custodian, assistant manager, or any other position you can find. You might be able to work part time at first, for a reduction on rent and no salary, until you've gained some experience. Computer experience is almost always required, and if it is a team position, maintenance experience is viewed favorably. In closing:
It's a great gig if you can stick it out: my husband and I have not paid a penny for housing or utilities for almost 20 years! In the long run, we feel quite blessed to have come this far, and all the headaches along the way were worth it.
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http://www.ProsperingIn2009.com
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The copyright for this content entitled "Free Housing and Utilities For Life!" has been specified by the contributor as:
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