Jealous of man’s income, landlord raises rent by 50% and ends up losing $20k

Landlords are the worst and there needs to be a resolution passed by the United Nations to ratify that. Before the 'Not all landlords' crowds get here, let's just establish that landlords make it their life mission to eke every last cent out of you. One man who was grifted out of money by his opportunist landlord, exacted sweet revenge that far exceeded the money he was forced to cough up. Reddit user RockyMoose shared his story about his landlord increasing his rent by 50% and how that decision would unravel 5 years later.

"In the late ‘90s wife and I were just getting started, and we decided to DINK (“double income, no kids”) it for a few years to save up for a down payment on a house," he wrote. The dot-com bubble was rising and that meant he made a solid income and the couple could live off one person's income while saving the other. They decide to rent a nice place until bought a home. "We rented an apartment in the new city that was listed for $950/mo. The landlord was a real estate agent who owned a two-bedroom condo as an investment property. Let’s call him "Hank Wazowski". Hank was a thin, gray, no-nonsense guy," he wrote.

When the realtor saw his job profile on the credit application and his income — $75k, he was stunned. “'I can’t believe how much money you make,' Hank must have said half a dozen times, muttering under his breath," he recalled. “We might stay a few months after the term is over, would month-to-month be ok after a year?” he asked and Hank assured them it would be fine.

A year later, the couple found a home to buy and were ready to move in a couple of months. So he called Hank and asked him if they could extend the lease by two months. "Hank assured me on the phone it would be no problem. The extension arrived in the mail and it included a month-to-month clause and a $500 increase in the rent. I flipped out and called him. 'Hank, why are you increasing the rent over 50%? That’s too much!' He was super condescending to me. "He was going to screw us over as best he could. He got angry with me for arguing my point, and I’ll never forget his parting words: 'You don’t have to like it, RockyMoose, you just have to pay it,'" and they did because they had no choice.

Five years late, he finds overhears his co-worker, Phil, a senior developer, talking about Hank Wazowski. "There’s no way it’s the same guy, right?" he thought to himself. He checks with Phil and learns that it is, and he's Phil's real estate agent and has almost closed a deal for him that would see Hank pocket a cool $20,000. As Hank Wazowski walks in to drop off some paperwork, Phil introduces him: 'Hank, this is my friend RockyMoose, I think you may have already met?' He asks they were doing. "I start to think out loud. 'Selling the condo for around $150 to 200 thousand, and you’re looking at houses in the $500 thousand range, so that’s $650 to 700 thousand in total transactions. An agent getting 3% on the sale AND the purchase is getting around $20k for his trouble. That’s a good commission for the agent, isn’t it?' Hanks eyes flash and I can tell he remembers everything about me now. Phil is surprised at my passive-aggressive tone. I am enjoying the uncomfortable silence," he wrote.

Hank deflects his question, shakes hands with Phil and leaves. "As the door is still shutting, I say a bit too loudly, so that Hank can hear, “Phil, don’t sign anything just yet, I have a story to tell you,” he recalled. He then explains to Phil why he was passive-aggressive with his realtor. “Phil, you can’t use this guy to sell your condo and buy a house. I hate him. He’s evil. I’ll help you find another real estate agent, just use ANYONE BUT HANK!” he tells Phil, who immediately agrees. “There’s no way I could use him now. What a dick!” says Phil.

Phil’s eyes light up, “What do you want me to say when I fire him?” They plan the phone call in detail.

“Hi, Hank? It’s Phil calling. Yeah, about that. I’ve decided to get some other quotes from other agents. I’m not going to sign up with you …

“No, this is just a decision I’ve made . . . no, it has nothing to do with RockyMoose . . .
[pause]

“Well, you don’t have to like it, Hank. You just have to accept it. Goodbye.”
CLICK

It was poetic and he was elated, especially after what the realtor had done to him all those years back. "It was the greatest revenge I could have ever imagined: through a chance meeting years later, Hank got screwed out of twenty thousand dollars in easy commissions. And the best part is Hank absolutely KNEW it had EVERYTHING to do with RockyMoose!" he concluded.