Ethnography Summary
Wen-Cong Toh interviewed Greg Anderson, the co-owner of andersonNDrentals.
AndersonNDrentals has been providing off-campus housing for Notre Dame and St. Mary’s students for over 35 years. They also provide housing for a few Memorial Hospital students and employees.
Date: 3/7/15
Type: Individual Interview
Location: Wen-Cong’s house on East Marion Street (one of andersonNDrentals’ properties).
Team participants: Conducted interview alone
User Characteristics:
He is a white male in his 60’s, co-owner of andersonNDrentals, and rents about 20 houses to ND and SMC students every year. He has been in the business for over 35 years.
What is this person about – what drives him/her? He is driven to make a living from renting out properties to students. He also enjoys the relationships he forms with tenants. This has evolved from a side-job to become his full-time profession.
What is this person’s biggest point of pain? Dealing with the turnover every school year and making sure all of their houses are rented out. Maintenance issues during the year.
Memorable quotes from interview:
“When I go to landlord association meetings in South Bend, most people just complained about tenants who didn’t pay rent or moved out/ran away in the middle of the night. They don’t really bring up the issue of crime itself; but being formerly incarcerated definitely gives us an impression of being untrustworthy.”
“I read in the paper about meth houses, and about how it can permeate the walls and be very expensive for owners.”
“I wouldn’t take on any risk that would endanger my business. While I would love to help, we are a business first, not a charity.”
Top 3 Learnings:
- Their company does not ask potential tenants about their criminal record or do background checks because since their renters are all educated young college students, they assume that they don’t have a history and are pretty safe. Even if they found out that one of them was formerly incarcerated, they wouldn’t have a problem renting to him/her because they trust them as Notre Dame students and through their association with the larger friend group in the house.
- However, they would be wary to rent to formerly incarcerated individuals in the community (non-students). They have heard about negative experiences from other landlords regarding renting to this population. Their main goal is to make a living by collecting rent each month and the less drama the better. Also, Greg would be worried about how the community views his business and properties if they do rent to more dangerous ex-convicts. He said it definitely does depend on the crime though.
- Greg is unsure about the feasibility of partnering with a nonprofit housing program, as their properties are pretty expensive, and the non-profit would have to pay market value. However, there are pros if the non-profit behaves similarly to Memorial Hospital, and provides their own cleaning services while maintaining the turnaround for them.
Key Insights – (1) While non-profits may try to appeal to their charitable sides, landlords are trying to make a living as well. They will generally take the safer option, such as students whose parents will pay rent every month. They may be more willing to rent to formerly incarcerated individuals though, if rent is guaranteed by a non-profit. (2) Students get a lot more benefit of the doubt due to their education level and age; this is a class issue. Educated ex-convicts are more likely to be granted second chances from landlords as they seem more trustworthy.
Activities:
- Maintains houses throughout the year, provides repair if anything breaks.
- Provides tours of the houses and tries to rent out each one to students every year.
- Develops relationships with tenants.
- Attends landlord association meetings in South Bend.
Environment
- South Bend, IN, a college town.
- The houses are all large and spacious, decorated and designed for 6-8 students.
Interactions:
- Constant contact with current tenants to make sure everything is going smoothly
- Recruiting prospective renters for future years.
- Works with wife.
- Communicates with other landlords in the area to stay informed.
Objects:
- Houses
- Transportation
- Computer and phone
Users:
- Current student renters
- Prospective student renters
- Neighbors around each of the houses they own.
