THE COVID EFFECT

 THE COVID EFFECT 

Let's put it this way, when a train stops, which takes a lot of energy to be absorbed to completely stop, it takes a lot to get it moving again. Such is also the case with our new world in this covid filled era.  When you pull that emergency stop lever, it's going to take us a while to get our economy back moving in the way that we were once used to. 

So many people are having trouble paying rent and bills that the stimulus that is coming from government isn't so much a relief, but more so a band-aid over a gashing wound. the average amount of people late on rent, for example, is at least in the 40%.  Times are fucking tough. On top of that, businesses are suffering. They can barely afford to keep the rent paid, let alone keep employees on payroll. The whole thing is really troubling and businesses are doing their very best to just survive. 

We needed mortgage and rent freezes. The banks have been bailed out in the past and there's nothing telling me they wouldn't be bailed out now. They could sit on those loans for a minute or two and for profit landlords could have applied for some sort of program. As it stands, there's no way that any tenant will be able to cover the cost of almost a year's worth of back rent whenever we get to the point that a eviction freeze goes away. This has lead to landlords making some tough decisions. 

Take the situation I am in. While I still maintain paying rent and doing everything I normally do?  Take for example my apartment building where I live.  The crisis kicked off and in the triplex that I have been for the last, I dunno, close to 10 years or so, the front neighbors decided to move out to Ireland. I mean, cool for them, they could do it, why not.  But that move out as well as the fact that my downstairs neighbor has had financial issues and hadn't been paying his rent on time, meant that I am now the only one contributing to the landlords pocket book on the regular.  Which, causes them, an elderly set of brothers, to throw up the vintage looking building up on the market. The property is pretty much in the 2.5 million range, and I for sure thought that the only people who would be in the market for this type of place would be to level it and build an apartment building that can fit triple the amount of tenants like the apartment buildings that have been erected around me. 

I was wrong in some sense and now my place is on 45 day escrow. What this means to my future, I have no idea. But it goes to give you an example that these tough times have some crazy side effects on all levels of the economy and that everything has a bit of a butterfly effect where everyone is at risk.  Will I be able to live here after the new buyers decide to move in a relative in one of the units? The unstable ground around me now has caused me a bit of a concern. 

I have grown to love and make this place my own expression. The amount of art on the wall... the level of care I put into it and the way that the vintage 1930's look really does appeal to me and I do want this place to be my home for some time to come. It's a bit anxiety inducing to say the least. 

We shall see, but it does seem like the domino effect and we'll see once all this is said and done, how many of those around us fall. And what sort of world we come out of with all of these crazy surprises.