Tenants suffer under new owner in east end
La Presse has a dossier Monday on an east‑end building bought by a landlord who’s been in the news, who allows his buildings to fall into disrepair in order to force tenants out – with no negative consequences to himself or his empire.
Blork 13:37 on 2023-12-11 Permalink
Interesting how that real estate guy is portrayed. He’s a kid; barely 30. But he’s a real go-getter in terms of making his fortune. Le Devoir referred to him as the “head of a renoviction empire” and La Presse has some choice words for his business practice. But some small outlets (typically very business-friendly ones) refer to him as a great “success story.” I found one profile of him somewhere that goes on and on about how his big goal in life is to “help others.”
impossibus 14:40 on 2023-12-11 Permalink
Oh wow, that’s the guy who renovicted a bunch of long-time residents out of the building next door to mine a couple of years ago. Runs an illegal AirBNB on the top floor. Small world.
Blork 16:36 on 2023-12-11 Permalink
You hear about people like this and all sorts of possibilities come to mind:
Maybe he’s “misunderstood” and in fact is dedicated to improving things by fixing up decrepit buildings and he just happens to be making money at it. Maybe the various fires and floods and collapsing ceilings are not his fault at all, but he’s being blamed because he’s a landlord/real estate developer. (This is likely how he sees it himself, but I doubt this reflects any sort of actual reality.)
Maybe he’s a sociopath and literally does not give AF about the people he’s displacing because he is physically incapable of empathy or sympathy. (Some experts claim up to 10% of the population display some level of sociopathic personality disorder.)
Maybe he’s a lone-wolf anti-social type who is acting out as a way of dealing with some trauma from his childhood. Rosebud! (Oh please.)
Maybe he’s just an asshole. (High probability IMO.)