Savannah Bananas Redux & Tenants: Getting Stuck Until the Game is Over

 

Savannah Bananas Event Schedule:

• Early Merchandise Sales: 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM
• Pre-Game Party & Player Appearances: 2:00 PM
• "Before the Peel" Show: 3:00 PM
• Gates Open: 4:30 PM
• Show Starts: 6:30 PM
• First Pitch: 7:00 PM (ET) 

 

As I had written a few months ago, my family had the “privilege” of buying tickets to the Savannah Bananas baseball game in Charlotte earlier this month.  We had never been and the Charlotte community was whipped into a frenzy for this event at Bank of America Stadium.  It was sold out for both nights in the 74,000-capacity stadium!  Local social media was ablaze:

 

Were you one of the lucky ones who were able to buy tickets in the lottery that started 6 months prior??? 

 

Oh, you’ve never been??  It’s such an amazing experience!  So funny!  Fun for the whole family!  Better get there early!  The Pre-Game Party is not to be missed!

 

Now that my family had the “golden tickets”, logistics had to be sorted out.  Real life things such as: how are we getting there (traffic will be a nightmare in Uptown), what time should we actually show up (2 PM is the start of the vaunted “Pre-Game Party”, but the game itself didn’t start until 7 PM), how long could the family with younger children last at this event (is 2 PM – 10 PM realistic?), and what and when were we eating? 

 

Complicating the situation was a small disclosure at the bottom of the hype material:

 

The Pre-Game Plaza is a ticketed space, fans must have tickets to the game to access the Plaza. Re-entry after exiting the venue is prohibited.

 

I thought we had a chance of success if we could float in and out of the 5-hour pre-game activities.  But reentry was apparently not an option.  The “Pre-Game Plaza” was held on the closed down roads and area directly outside of Bank of America Stadium.  We would have to go through security (bringing in no outside food and drink) and then stay on premises once admitted.  Once we were in, we were in, until we were out for good. 

 

After some serious thought, the executive decision was made that we would take the marketing at its word and get the fullest Savannah Bananas experience we could.  We were going to go early by light rail and take it all in!

 

We made it to the stadium around 3 PM.  Initially, there was much fanfare and excitement!  Yellow everywhere, buzzing children, ear-to-ear smiles all around! 

 

Then real life set in.  It was really hot, the Pre-Game Plaza was mostly in the sun (unless you packed in where the stadium’s shadow offered some shade), the pre-game show on the stage was not visible for shorter folk (re: my kids), and it was not overly interesting to us.  I looked at my watch showing 3:45 PM and wondered how we were going to make it until 6:30 PM.  At least we were being paid to be there (wait a sec…).

 

It turns out the way one kills three disinterested hours in the hot sun is deflecting complaints and taking down multiple $15.00 drinks and burgers.  With a captive audience (no pun intended), the only other choice was to leave and cut losses.  In hindsight, I wish I had shown a little more discipline and did some research deeper than soaking in Savannah Banana marketing e-mails.  Once we got there early and had our ticket scanned, we were stuck and needed to stick it out.

 

In a way (with my Charlotte property manager hat on), it reminded me of the importance of placing quality rental tenants. 

 

Landlords have these nice houses that they spend a good amount of money preparing for tenants.  Then the rental home goes on the market and prospective tenants fill out applications highlighting what good candidates they would be.  If one cares to listen, tenants will tell you how they will pay on time and meticulously care for the home.  And they proclaim they have the first month’s rent and security deposit in hand and are ready to move in ASAP once they get the go-ahead!  Their marketing pitches can be very convincing as landlords have rental properties that are costing them money each vacant day.

 

But once the lease is signed and the tenants move in, there is “no reentry” until their tenancy is complete; once they are in, they are in.  The landlord is stuck with them until lease expiration or they are forced out by eviction.  The house could be taking heavy wear, misuse, and late/missing payments.  For an investment in which the landlord should be making money, it can turn into one that is costs them even more.  A rushed decision based on emotion and fear can turn out to be financially and mentally draining.

 

Much like prospective tenants, the Savannah Bananas proclaim they are the greatest show on Earth and will be one you never want to forget!  But things do not always turn out as well as advertised.  Smart landlords will make sure to do the requisite research and ensure it is a game with tenants they want to be stuck with!

 

Happy Landlording!

Pete Rose’s Reinstatement & Evictions: Worth Reaching for a Win-Win?

 

“It depends upon what the meaning of ‘is’ is.  If the- if he- if ‘is’ means is and never has been, that is not- that is one thing.”

President Bill Clinton pleading his case during the Monica Lewinski grand jury trial

 

Growing up, I remember having some of Pete Rose’s baseball cards in my collection; they were good ones!  Not only was he the all-time hit leader in Major League Baseball (MLB) history, he was the consummate ballplayer.  He was gritty, ran out every groundball, and earned the nickname “Charlie Hustle”; he was consistently lauded for “playing the game the right way”. During his 24-year career, he won three World Series and more regular season games (1,972) than any other professional player in any sport.  He loved baseball and was considered a surefire Hall-of-Famer.

 

But off the field when his playing career was over, he did not always conduct himself the right way and broke a major, unforgiveable rule- gambling on baseball.  With the integrity of the competitiveness of the sport at stake, gambling had always been banned by MLB.  Outcomes of games would not be tainted by it.  It was a simple, Draconian regulation: if you gambled on baseball while involved, you were banished. 

 

Rose was accused of betting on his own baseball games while he was manager of Cincinnatti Reds.  He denied the accusations.  When concrete evidence was discovered showing his guilt, he continued to lie about it.  The commissioner of baseball permanently banned Rose from the game of baseball (including the ability to be voted into the Hall of Fame) in 1989.  Afterwards, he still showed no remorse for his actions, even after finally admitting to gambling on baseball in a book he wrote years later.  A storied career ended in infamy.

 

Pete Rose died last year.

 

But last week, the newest commissioner of MLB, Rob Manfred, reinstated Pete Rose.  This lifted his ban and made him posthumously eligible for Hall of Fame induction.

 

But he broke the unforgivable rule!  How is reinstatement possible?  Doesn’t this send a bad message to other MLB personnel?  Or have times changed now that gambling is more mainstream?  Baseball fans seem to have split feelings.  But, regardless, Pete Rose not being in the Hall of Fame is a regrettable lose-lose for Rose and MLB.

 

The same line of questioning can be used in property management on eviction guidelines.  Most residential leases have rent due on the 1^st of each month and allows for evictions to be promptly filed on the 2^nd if rent has not been received.  But that doesn’t happen often.  In fact, most evictions aren’t filed until the 16th at the earliest.  Why?

 

It’s because it is in everyone’s best interest (tenant, owner, and property manager) for the tenant to pay.  And giving the tenant additional time to the 16^th of the month usually allows a second paycheck to come in so the tenant square the balance.  Once eviction is filed, attorney fees and court costs begin to accrue to the tenant which can make a perilous financial situation worse.  If this happens, the tenant will probably never get caught up before the eviction is recorded, leading to the owner never receiving the rent, and leading to the tenant being forced out of the house.  It creates a true lose-lose situation.

 

What about if the tenant gave a compelling case that full payment could be made if he was granted an extension past the 16^th of the month?  This is where it gets sticky.  All the letters sent and communications continually reinforce that the 16^th is it.  There is no tomorrow.  Full payment needs to be made by then or, unfortunately, eviction must be filed.  Rarely can most tenants in a non-payment situation get caught up after being a full month behind anyway. 

 

But does it need to be a hard and fast rule?  Shouldn’t every effort to avoid lose-lose situations be exhausted?  Is there a case to be made that sometimes the 16^th isn’t it? 

 

I believe there is.  Pushing the deadline is always by a case-by-case basis, and candidly, most situations don’t warrant it.  But some do.  Property managers should be always aiming to avoid lose-lose situations.

 

Doesn’t everyone believe that the all-time hit leader in MLB history should be enshrined in baseball’s Hall-of-Fame?  Of course!  Hits are one of the most important baseball metrics and he had 4,256 of them.

 

Yes, it might be sticky if he ever gets voted in and enshrined.  Fans may revolt in anger.  Players may look at this as a precedent that gambling is a forgivable sin now.  No one knows if there will be future negative ramifications. 

 

However, a tenant paying and Pete Rose in the Hall of Fame are ideal win-win scenarios.  But getting there requires discernment because there is always a chance of getting burned.  Smart landlords (and MLB commissioners) should tread carefully.

 

Happy Landlording!

Are Savannah Banana Tix & Great Rental Applicants Worth the Fuss?

 

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.”

(Matthew 13:44)

 

I was completely caught off-guard by the Savannah Bananas.  More accurately, I didn’t understand the frenzy around their tickets.

 

It all started around 6 months ago when my wife casually asked me to enter the “Savannah Bananas Ticket Lottery”.  I had no idea what she was talking about, but dutifully complied.  I clicked on the website link and inputted my contact information.  Done.

 

I ignored the marketing jargon at first:

“These aren’t your typical tickets”

“It’s the most fun you’ll ever have at a baseball game”

“You name it, we have it.  Just be mentally prepared.”

 

From what I could ascertain, the Savannah Bananas were like the Harlem Globetrotters, except for baseball.  Which is fine, but they didn’t look overly enticing to me.

 

However, the inputting of my information set off a 6-month e-mail marketing firework show about how wrong I was:

 

“You will only have one opportunity to buy tickets to the game of a lifetime- don’t miss out!”

“Confirm your contact information and double-check your log-in to make sure you can get into the website when ticket sales go live!!” (received 4 months prior to the actual lottery)

“Make sure your credit card information is preloaded so you don’t blow the chance of a lifetime!” (received 2 months before the lottery- I guess I need to make sure the card I put in there isn’t expired by then…)

 

Things got more intense as lottery day approached.  “Reconfirm your log-in info!”  “You’ll receive an e-mail 5 days from now that you will need to click on to keep in the lottery!”  It seemed like these e-mails kept showing up requiring me to do
(and re-do) more work for the right to buy these tickets.  Though annoying, on a certain level I was amazed at their potent marketing acumen that turned an apathetic ticket buyer into a pup willing to do whatever they asked.

 

The day approached and I was told I needed to be ready to buy them at exactly 12:30 PM on the day of my youngest son’s preschool picnic lunch.  Of course, I succumbed and checked the time frequently during the event; I’d be ready to click on their website link at exactly the right time.   When the time came, the link was slow to respond making me second-guess my log-in credentials (I know I should have reconfirmed them for the 5^th time like recommended- dumb!!).  But it finally went through and my credit card information was true as well.  Four Savannah Banana upper deck tickets were now mine!  The website congratulated me and culminated their storyline with the fact that I was now one of the luckiest 150,000 people in the Charlotte-Metro area.

 

Hooray?  Whew!

 

Besides the cathartic value of getting this experience off of my chest, it made me think of what else is worth the effort that it took to secure these Savannah Banana tickets. 

 

From a residential property management perspective, great rental tenants is the first thing that came to mind.  This is the #1 goal of being a successful landlord.  Great tenants pay on time, take care of the property, and make working with them a pleasure (I’m picturing a few of them right now!).  And they are a gift that keeps on giving.  Once they are secured, the benefits accrue for a year and usually much longer!

 

So when we see great rental applications come through (high credit scores, low debt, glowing landlord references, etc.), the next step is to make sure they don’t get away.  Calling them, texting them, e-mailing, following-up, having after-hour conversations if necessary.  We need them.  The biggest difference between a good and bad property manager is tenant quality.

 

We’ll find out if the Savannah Bananas experience was worth the fuss of securing these tickets when we attend the game on June 6^th.  But smart landlords know that securing great rental tenants is always worth it!

 

Happy Landlording!

 

And the postscript courtesy Axios Charlotte:

 

Savannah Bananas tickets sold out in Charlotte in roughly five hours when they went on sale last week, a team spokesperson tells Axios.

Why it matters: Tickets sold for up to $65 originally, but resale prices start at $113 on StubHub, at $171 on Vivid Seats and $156 on SeatGeek.

Catch up quick: Ticket access was based on the Banana Ball Ticket Lottery, which closed last fall. If you were selected, you were assigned a time to have a chance to purchase tickets.

• Before tickets went on sale, the Bananas added a second night to their World Tour stop at Bank of America Stadium to respond to "overwhelming demand," according to organizers.

My thought bubble: Even with the added night and assigned ticket purchase time, I still wasn't able to grab tickets. 😔

(Axios Charlotte By Laura Barrero · Apr 16, 2025)

Jayden Daniels Football Card Worth $1K? Simple Rental Home Pricing

 

My 11-year old son has become very interested in football cards.  He used to just like finding players on his favorite team (The Tampa Bay Buccaneers- ugh!  If it wasn’t going to be the Carolina Panthers, could he not pick a team in another division???), but now he has expanded his interest in what the cards are “potentially” worth.

 

Now his old man had similar interests in his younger years, except mostly with baseball cards.  I’d get the Beckett price guide and add up how much my cards were worth.  And, of course, I dreamed of when I was much older and the rookie cards of players like Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens would be worth millions when they made the Hall of Fame (cough, cough).

 

My son excitedly pulled me aside one day and showed me a Jayden Daniels (rookie quarterback for the Washington Commanders) card he had just pulled from a new pack.  On my wife’s phone, he had found a page that showed that the card’s value was around $1K- wow!  Next to the value was an eBay button where one could post it for sale with the push of a button. 

 

Our conversation:

Me:  Very cool!  Push the button and sell it for a $1K!

Son: Now way, Dad!  That’s low.  It will be worth much more later.

Me (thinking of the old baseball cards I had in our house with virtually no value): Are you sure?  $1K of real money gives you a lot more options.

Son: Nope.

Me: What if Dad sweetens the pot and will give you another $100 on top of the $1K if you can really get close to $1K for it?

 

He still wasn’t going for it.

 

In my mind, I wanted to put this estimation of value to the test.  Was there really someone willing to pay $1K for this new card?  I was doubtful.  What was the real market if he was bent on selling it?  Ebay, in theory, pulled this valuation from past sales somewhere.  I’m thinking that it was worth much less, like single digits.  Unfortunately, short of listing his card for sale on the sly, I’ll never know for sure.

 

I find rental home pricing to be similar.  Property managers dig up comparable sales, factor in the differentiating house features, look at the available competition that is renting in the area, and then formulate a price.  This price is an educated guess and is compiled in order to get good tenants applying, in a relatively short amount of time, at the highest possible price. 

 

But we don’t really know how many houses are truly on the market for rent.  There are many rental websites.  Recently, we thought we had priced a home for rent well, only to find that there were almost 10 others on the market in the neighborhood on another website we hadn’t seen- and they were all listed at the price we recommended!  That type of similar inventory makes for a logjam.

 

So what’s the right price?  Does it matter how many Jayden Daniels cards are on the market?  How can one know how many houses and cards are for sale out there?  And how much they sold for?

 

It does matter, but there is no real way to know everything going on.  However, there is a way to know for sure whether a price is good or not.  And it’s really simple.

 

Putting the home on the market for a reasonable amount of time is the surest way to find out.  If the house is listed with decent exposure to the market and the valuation is right, it will rent.  If Jayden Daniels’s rookie card was listed at $1K and it sold for $1K, the price was right (or too low).  If it didn’t sell, the price was probably too high.  Simple stuff.

 

The market sets the price.  And the market is constantly changing.  But it is pretty efficient.  If it didn’t sell, the market declared that the price was too high at that time.

 

Will my son’s card sell for $1K?  There’s only one way to know!  I just need to convince him to list it and see.

 

Happy Landlording!

The “One Mistake” Case Against Rental Home Self-Management

 

“You don’t know what you don’t know.”

Socrates

 

It has been a life-long learning process for appreciating professionals in my adult life.  Most of the time, this teaching did not come easily to me.

 

From fixing cars and watching them break down at inopportune times.  Feeling physically poorly for months until I went to a doctor who had me better in days.  Using bug spray to get rid of termites only to see them come back with a hungry vengeance until a proper exterminator was employed. 

 

To be fair, fixing things on my own outside of my sweet spots isn’t always a losing effort.  I’m always proud of myself when I can pull off some repair successfully in my house or submit some legal paperwork without any help.  Go me!

 

Likewise, in property management, there is some definite positive reinforcement for self-managing:

 

“The last tenant I placed paid on time and left my rental home spotless!”

“No one is going to love my property like I do.”

“I do a lot of the repairs myself and save money.”

“Property managers are expensive!”

“The house is right by my house.” (writer’s note: that’s a double-edged sword…)

 

It is estimated that around 50% of all rental properties are self-managed, so it is prevalent. But despite the “tenant domination” stories told by some landlords at parties, it is not all roses.  There really are midnight calls for stopped up toilets, tenants not paying rent that need to be evicted, and disgusting houses dropped into a landlord’s lap when a tenant leaves in the middle of the night.  There is actual effort and stress in managing rental properties; to do it well requires time, sweat, and educational investment.  No one can say it isn’t doable, though.

 

The biggest driver for self-management is saving money.  I get that!  There is a certain joy when all the money generated from the rental home goes directly into the bank account without any property management fee deductions.  Months (or years) that this happily goes on is certainly a case for self-management; it probably comes to a few thousand dollars in potential savings per rental house a year. 

 

But where things sometimes go awry in this calculation is that there is the “One Mistake”; this one miscalculation erases all accrued property management savings.  Whether it is a legal one where a security deposit dispensation is not sent out in 30 days and the tenant who destroyed the house has the legal right to get it all back.  Or when needed (or, sometimes it turns out, unneeded) repairs are made and the time and monetary investment keep ballooning due to unfamiliarity.  Or a trusted vendor was employed who actually shouldn’t have been trusted.  Or a tenant court date that keeps being pushed farther out due to not sending out proper notices while, concurrently, no rent is being paid.  

 

The one-offs of learning the property management business can erase all the realized monetary savings and just leave uncompensated time that could have been better spent.  That can be frustrating! And that’s the tough case against self-management.

 

The problem with avoiding the costly “One Mistake” is that it could happen in so many different areas.  And sometimes things turn into “Two Mistakes” or more…

 

Property managers aren’t full-proof, but experience does offer some benefit for steering clear of these costly errors.

 

Happy Landlording!

Is it OK to Visit My Rental Properties if I Have a Property Manager? I’m Sort of Curious To See Them…

 

Answer: Yes!  We live in the United State of America.  If you’re the owner, you are always welcome to visit your properties.  This right is usually written into the lease as well. 

 

This is a very short answer (and makes for a very short blog)…

 

For a longer discussion… the question could be whether it is advantageous for owners to visit their properties if they have a property management company managing them already.

 

Let’s look at 3 scenarios of an owner rental home visit.  Keep in mind (especially after COVID), at least one of the tenants will probably be home at some point during the home inspection:

 

Scenario #1 (Happy Time):

Owner knocks on the door.  Tenant enthusiastically answers and there is a warm greeting.  They tour the home together. 

Owner: “My, you keep my home up beautifully!  How did you get the cracks so clean between the countertop and backsplash? 

Tenant: “Oh, it was a trick my mother taught me- gently scrub a paste of baking soda mixed with lemon juice in with a toothbrush.”

Owner: “Splendid!  And thank you for always paying early!”

Tenant: “You’re welcome!  Have you met my 4-year old daughter, Ivory?  Honey, come say ‘hi’ to our landlord!” 

Owner: “She’s so cute!”

Tenant: “Thank you!  Can I get your number if I have an emergency and can’t get in touch with the management company?  They’re sort of slow sometimes.” 

Owner: “Sure!”

 

Upside: Owner has firsthand knowledge of the property and a budding friendship?

Downside: It might be necessary to evict the tenant and her young daughter.  A personal connection makes this tougher.  The tenant now has an influential third-party to go to when the property manager’s answers are not to the tenant’s liking (the old “Go to Mom when Dad says ‘no’” trick).

 

Scenario #2 (Unhappy Time):

Owner knocks on the door- no one answers.  Owner keys into the property.  Family is eating dinner.  Tenant has been late on the rent.  The home is really messy and not maintained.  Owner speaks to the tenant.  Tenant had a tough day at work and complains about repair issues with the house.  An unhappy conversation ensues.  No one is happy when the owner leaves.

 

Upside: Owner has firsthand knowledge of the property

Downside: The relationship with the tenant is potentially complicated.  There are negative feelings on both sides that may lead to sub-optimal choices that erode the relationship further.

 

Scenario #3: (Normal Time):

Owner knocks on the door- no one answers.  Owner keys in and no one is home.  Owner walks through, inspects all the rooms, and takes a few notes.  Owner is preparing to leave and the tenant arrives home with her daughter from basketball practice.  Owner and tenant cordially greet each other and then each continue along with what they were doing.  Owner leaves. 

 

Upside: Owner has firsthand knowledge of the property

Downside: None

 

As a property manager, our goal is to maximize our owner client’s investment; a large part of that is creating a drama-less relationship where rent is paid, the home is maintained, and needed repairs are done.  We want to create an environment where tenants want to extend their leases and have no landlord-related reasons on why they wouldn’t.  They are free to enjoy their rental home and live their lives.  If at some point we need to file for eviction, the decision is based more on a business case as opposed to any emotion either way.

 

It's a boringly successful relationship for all parties.  Ran correctly, it’s a beautifully benign operation.

 

And it is entirely possible that an owner visit would not affect the tenant relationship at all!

 

But… going back to whether owner property visits are actually advantageous, we still don’t recommend them as the safest move seems to let things be.  It doesn’t seem wise to add any potential disruption of this boring relationship when there is no tangible upside. 

 

Owners are always welcome to visit their rental properties for any reason, including curiosity!  There just seems little to be gained and much to be potentially lost.  Why take an unnecessary risk? 

 

Happy Landlording!

McAlister’s Deli “Service Fee” Strategy: Applicable to Rental Homes?

 

The (FTC) complaint alleges that (a large property management company) advertised monthly rental rates that failed to include mandatory junk fees that could total more than $1,700 yearly… These undisclosed fees ranged from “services” such as “smart home” technology and “utility management,” to air filter delivery and internet packages. Renters could not opt out of paying these fees.

(www.FTC.gov)

 

Some friends and I meet for a Bible study on Monday nights at the local McAlister’s Deli.  After buying my sandwich one night, I started to peruse my receipt after paying.  I was trying to figure out why my regular sandwich cost so much and looked at the bottom of the receipt.  I saw the tax amount (can’t dodge that!), but above it was an itemized “Service Fee”.  And here I thought I had just picked the sandwich up at the counter…

 

I clicked on an icon next to the aforementioned “Service Fee” and it offered a fuller explanation.  “This fee is used to help pay for the restaurant’s app and website.”  Surely, companies can’t charge for that as a mandatory fee.

 

Wait- or can they?

 

I always thought companies were only allowed to upcharge under the condition that they added more value.  If McAlister’s allowed me to add another slice of cheese to my sandwich, I’m fine with them charging me more.  If I wanted a bigger drink than what is in their value meal, I’d expect to pay more.  But ordering on their app or website?  Isn’t maintaining the on-line ordering portals the cost of doing business in today’s environment?  And isn’t it cheaper and easier for them if I use them?

 

The line on chargeable value has gotten blurred in rental real estate as well.  As property management companies have piqued Wall Street’s interest of late, maximizing revenue is being stressed and companies are getting really “creative”.  Now I’m all for “revenue enhancement” as making more money is generally good.  However, fees should be generated by providing tenants voluntary options that could make their lives easier or give them greater flexibility; mandatory fees for unwanted or unwarranted services could easily cross a line (see the FTC blurb above detailing the “value-added services” that incurred a $48M fine).

 

We are starting to have tenants ask us things like, “Is the rent really $1,800/month or are there hidden fees that are not mentioned?”.  Being that these questions are being asked at all means this practice is becoming prevalent; legislation and more enforcement is probably on the horizon.

 

Landlords and property managers all aim to maximize revenue for their real estate investments and rightly so.  However, we need to be cautious and make sure a fair value proposition is made.   If any fees are questionable and wouldn’t withstand scrutiny, they should be scrapped.  Landlords should be on notice and make sure general business practices on add-on fees stay on the right side of the law.  “Service Fees” for common technology usage may only work in the food industry.

 

Happy Landlording!