I just got a text message from a business owner in Dallas who is working with, as he put it, a \u201cSnitch.\u201d The \u201cSnitch\u201d is a South Dallas homeowner who is essentially tattling tailing on landlords in Oak Cliff (South Dallas) to code compliance officials. The Bird Dog (who they refer to as the snitch for laughter purposes) is essentially a wholesaler looking to make $1,000 – $3,000 per deal that he can refer to the business owners. So let\u2019s talk about what this has to do with Privacy and Anonymity. To begin with, the \u201cBird Dog\u201d initially goes to the local county website and types in the property address. There, nine times out of 10, he can pinpoint the owner. With this information, he can call code compliance and code can come out, site the home for a violation and possibly begin causing issues for the owner.
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Anonymity and Privacy is\u00a0Important<\/h2>\n

Here is Another Story:
\nI remember a few years back, one of my mentors who is also in the real estate business with a wide variety of ventures including Group Homes and Special needs housing had an issue. Apparently, someone that they had asked to leave one of their properties found out who the owner was by looking through the tax roles and state records.
\nThis gentleman lives in about a 7,000 square foot home in the central part of the city, so it is not a gated community and is therefore relatively accessible. One afternoon, the former tenant showed up at his home with a gun in hand! I am not kidding. Please keep in mind, this is in an extremely upscale part of the city and the owner is a family man with a wife and 4 children. Do you think a better privacy or anonymity plan could have protected he and his family??<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Here is Another Privacy Story:<\/h2>\n

As a group home owner or someone looking for information on how to start a group home or someone wanting to scale up their group home business, one of your biggest threats is your client base.
\nA large landlord once told me another name for tenant is \u201cplaintiff\u201d\u2026.I love that line. Your customers may want<\/u><\/strong> to have a slip and fall on your property just to sue you! In fact, your clients may want to hire an attorney who is willing to take the case on contingency if the lawyer believes he can exact some money from you.
\nRemember, the Group Home and Care Home business is nothing more than a sub-niche (and a highly profitable one) within the real estate sector. Because real estate is \u201cReal Property\u201d you can look up the owners online. If an attorney sees that you own three group homes that you bought for $50,000 each and they are now worth $200,000; he knows you have $450,000 of equity.
\nDo you think the attorney would mind getting his or her hands on 50% of that and then giving his or her client (your previous tenant) 30% – 60% of that? You bet they would!
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