Ethnography Summary
Victoria Velasquez interviewed Henry Catalino, the owner of CES Property Management (a property management company that rents out over 50 properties to Notre Dame, Saint Mary’s and Holy Cross students). Victoria interviewed him about the concerns of renting to individuals with a criminal history.
Date: 3/6/17
Type: Individual Interview
Location: Victoria’s house in Irish Crossings
Team participants: Conducted interview alone
User Characteristics:
Owner of CES Property management; rents over 50 properties out to ND/SMC/HC students every year
Male, age 60s
Has been in realty for almost 40 years
Started out as a real estate agent, but the economy was in a recession and he couldn’t support his family so he got into property management and financial advising
What is this person about – what drives him? Henry is driven by the students that he interacts with everyday.
What is this person’s biggest point of pain? Balancing his commitment to the owners of his properties with his commitment to the students he rents to. His owners are his #1 priority. He wants to make sure the students who live in these homes are respectful of the property and the community that they are living in.
Memorable quotes from interview: “When people ask me why I rent to students, I tell them that I love that I don’t have to chase rent.” “It was not a good experience renting in low income areas.” “People wouldn’t feel comfortable if there was a serial rapist living next door.”
Top 3 Learnings:
- At the end of the day Henry wants to earn an income. He can do this a lot easier by renting to students whose parents have no problem meeting monthly rent ($625-1025/person/month).
- Whether or not someone will rent to individuals with a criminal history is highly dependent upon the circumstances in which the person is renting. For example, Henry is renting properties that belong to someone else out to students. Another person who has to relocate for work for 3 years might rent their home out while they are gone.
- As a property manager, Henry feels that he has a fiduciary responsibility to the owners of the property and to the population of the community where the property is located.
Key Insight – (1) People aren’t renting properties out of the goodness of their hearts to provide shelter to people. They are doing it as a means to make ends meet. (2) We can change people’s minds about renting to individuals with criminal history by focusing on their financial responsibility.
Activities:
- Stopped by my house while making his away around the neighborhood attending to tenants’ needs.
- En route to fix the electrical wiring in another tenant’s kitchen in an Irish Crossings home.
- Was coming from a house in Wexford Place where the washing machine needed repairs.
- Answering my questions and making small talk about Spring Break.
Environment
- Irish Crossings home on Burdette St.
- Just Henry and Victoria sitting at the kitchen table
- Room was kind of dark because shutters were drawn closed
- It was around 3:10 pm.
- House was a mess
Interactions:
- Henry texted Victoria when he was here.
- Normally he knocks and then lets himself in if no one answers the door after a few seconds. This time he rang the doorbell and waited for me to run upstairs from my room in the basement to let him in.
- He has a rule that we have to take our shoes off in the house, but he didn’t take his shoes off.
- We talked about our Spring Break plans. He is leaving on Wednesday for Mexico with his wife. I am leaving on Friday for the Caribbean.
- His phone kept buzzing as he was getting text messages and he was looking at them while talking to me.
Objects:
- Had his glasses in his pocket.
- Had his phone in his hand and then placed it on the table.
Users:
- Henry
- Victoria
- Victoria’s roommates