The Kangaroo Kronicles 15 – The Rental Man

By

Stu Silver / “Uncle Zally” Zalman Velvel

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I met Charlie Johnson at CCIM class. He was the oldest guy there, in his 60’s. He was also the shortest … and the richest.

 

Charlie was five feet four, and that was with lifts in his shoes. He was also balding. He was whisper quiet, and shy, but he had a smile that lit up that class.

 

CCIM stands for Certified Commercial Investment Member, and it is promoted as the “PhD of Commercial Real Estate.” The CCIM course was mostly math, and unabashedly, I am strong in math. I have a degree in Physics, and a minor in Calculus. We sat at the same study table, me, Charlie, and Debby, who was his “right hand lady” and office manager.

 

Charlie and I formed a mutual admiration society. He admired my book learning, and I admired … well, let me tell you more about Charlie. He and I became friends after that CCIM class, and when I hosted a live TV show on real estate, I asked him to be a guest.

 

It was my policy to interview guests for an hour or so before their appearance on the show, so I could ask questions that were relevant. My pre-show interview with Charlie lasted five hours, he was so fascinating. When we finished, he said, “You know, Stu, you talk a lot.”

 

I learned that Charlie prized three things:

1-   Cash flow

2-   Learning

3-   I’ll tell you this one later. It’s really funny.

 

As a young man, Charlie was a decorated combat veteran in World War II. When he returned home to Pittsburgh, he opened up a plumbing business, working 7 days a week, 18 hours a day, trying to climb the ladder of success. When he went for his annual physical, his doctor told him would be dead before he was 40 if he kept working so hard.

 

Charlie drove down to Fort Myers, Florida for a vacation. On the way down, he bought a real estate book on investing, and when he finished it, he said, “I can do that.”

 

And he did it. He bought 100 houses for no money down, then fixed them up and sold them for no money down, making $100 each month on each house – the difference between the mortgages he got, and the mortgages he gave. Every month, he had $10,000 in profits sitting in his mailbox.

 

Then Charlie turned to construction. He started building stories on US 41, the main business corridor. He bought a piece of land, then borrowed the money from a bank to build a store, plus the piece of land next door. He said by the time the store was built, he had a tenant for it, and then he started on the land next door, building another store, and borrowing enough for the new building and the land next door to it.

 

Charlie didn’t stop building until people stopped renting. When he stopped, he owned a mile of frontage on both sides of US 41. He overheard one of his tenants advising a friend, “Why don’t you ask Charlie, you know, the rental man, if he’ll lease you a store?”

 

Charlie named his business after that statement: The Rental Man.

 

Along the way, Charlie became dissatisfied with his education. He went to Edison College for a degree in accounting when he was 40. At the age of 50, he received a law degree. He never practiced accounting or the law, he just wanted to learn it.

 

As you already know, he was taking classes for a CCIM certification when I met him. After that, he was going for his CPM, Certified Property Manager. I asked what he would go for after that, and he thought for a minute, then said, “L.R.P.”

 

“L.R.P.? What’s that?” I asked.

 

“Lazy Rich Person,” he answered. Then he smiled his shy smile.

 

I named my favorite mobile home strategy L.R.P., as a homage to Charlie.

 

I said Charlie prized cash flow. This is how he described it:

 

“I am burdened with a positive cash flow of over two million dollars a year on my properties.”

 

That’s because he owned 50 million dollars worth of prime commercial real estate, with no mortgages on it.

 

Then Charlie added, along with his shy smile:

 

“But luckily there are a number of beautiful young blondes that are willing to share my burdens.”

 

That was the third thing Charlie prized, Beautiful young blondes. He wasn’t a dirty old man. He loved young blondes his whole life.

 

Getting back to my interview with Charlie for the TV show, Charlie was so nervous that he said he would have to take a double dose of tranquilizers. I asked him if he would like to do a practice session in the studio, and he said yes. When we got there, I interviewed him, and he was delightful –  funny and entertaining. When we were done, I asked the studio engineer, “Did you get it?” and he said, “Yes.”

 

I had the cameras and videotape machine running during our “practice session.” Charlie looked at me and smiled. “You tricked me,” he said.

 

The show I did with Charlie was the best one I ever did.

 

Charlie came to our real estate office shortly afterward. At the time, me, my wife, and our three kids all worked together in a converted barn on our property. When Charlie left, he turned to me and said:

 

“Stu, you have it all. You have your family working with you.”

 

Charlie passed a short time later. He died the same way he lived, in the arms of a beautiful young blonde. I swear it’s true. I’m not making it up.

 

After the funeral, I asked his “right hand lady”, Debby, for something of his as a memento. A week later, she called and asked me to come over to his home and get it. I was hoping she would give me his army helmet, or his  medals. Instead, she offered me something surprising.

 

Why did I tell you about Charlie Johnson, the Rental Man?

 

Because real estate, like every business, has its up and downs. Whenever you get discouraged, maybe it would help if you think of Charlie – that shy little plumber who never stopped learning, growing, and enjoying his life.

 

It  works for me, when I sit here  … at Charlie’s desk.

 

Cheers, mate!

 

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