American History 1988
Chapter 61 - 57: An Offer You Can’t Refuse

Chapter 61: Chapter 57: An Offer You Can’t Refuse

Cheap Rent Property Management Company’s storefront is located near the entrance to Interstate 90 in Cleveland, a highway that stretches directly from downtown to the suburbs.

In the planning of some of America’s early major cities, there would generally be two or three highways passing through the city center. The purpose of this was to facilitate commuting, as, after all, it is a country on wheels, with cars as the most mainstream mode of transportation and almost every household owning one, sometimes even more than one.

But as the scale of the cities expanded, highways had become a burden. They took up a significant amount of land and also caused disturbances to residents to a certain extent.

Even now, Cleveland shows signs of urban decay precisely because highways have led the middle class to the suburbs.

There are too many African Americans in the city center, and the middle class would rather drive a bit longer every day than live next to black people.

As a result, this has created a peculiar phenomenon where the quality of the population and the wealth index in downtown residential areas are both considerably lower compared to the suburbs.

Additionally, with the decline of heavy industry and the migration of the downtown population, there are many vacant houses in the bustling area near Cuyahoga River.

However, this was good news for Dean. An active rental housing market only exists with spare houses available. If the middle class were to settle here permanently, those in need of rental housing would have to move to the suburbs.

Now, just right, the middle class and tenants each take what they need, and Dean could also take advantage of Price’s List.

When he and Simon found the Cheap Rent storefront near Interstate 90, Dean thought he had come to the wrong place for a moment.

A short, gray two-storey building looked particularly shabby and unreliable among the surrounding dense high rises.

This is Cleveland’s largest property management company? Dean wondered if Jerry had deceived him.

However, when he walked into the building and informed a clerk at the front desk of his purpose, Jerry came down from upstairs to greet them with great enthusiasm.

"Jerry, this is the headquarters of Cheap Rent?" Just as he entered the conference room, Dean asked with some skepticism.

"You could say that," Jerry pulled out a chair and gestured for them to sit down, "but we have more than 300 of these headquarters in Cleveland."

"More than 300?" Dean and Simon exchanged glances, this was somewhat different from what they had imagined.

"That’s right," Jerry shrugged nonchalantly, as he always got a similar reaction from clients when he explained it to them.

"So Cheap Rent has no nominal headquarters, just over 300 rental units scattered throughout Cleveland?" Dean somewhat understood Cheap Rent’s business model, somewhat similar to the chain agencies like Lianjia and DeYoo he had seen in the future.

After Jerry asked the clerk to serve each of them a cup of coffee, he began to explain, "As a property management company, our clients are scattered throughout the city.

To provide efficient and considerate service, Cheap Rent needs to be able to show clients houses at any time, so the main streets and residential areas are our best offices."

"Wow~ that’s an eye-opener." Dean discovered that the situation in Cleveland was different from Youngstown. The former’s housing market is primarily led by property companies or agents, while the latter relies mostly on private landlords, which may be related to the difference in the size of the two cities.

"So, the future elites..." Jerry smiled at Dean and his companions, "Coming to see me today, are you planning to throw another hot party?"

Price’s List’s last party had caused quite a stir in the university town to the extent even someone like Jerry who roamed the streets had heard about it.

"I think that might not be possible for now, since the last one was too fiery, I even received a warning from the school afterwards," Dean explained helplessly, spreading his hands.

He wasn’t lying; the Dean of Academic Affairs, Clark, had even talked to him about it. Although there was no explicit warning, Dean knew that for the sake of his smooth transfer, it was best to keep a low profile.

"Oh, that’s really too bad," Jerry expressed sympathy at the right moment, "So this time...?"

"This time we’re still talking business," Dean picked up the thread, "Jerry, before we start, can I ask you a question?"

"Of course," Jerry took a sip of coffee nonchalantly, he had all the time in the world. He also wanted to know what business Dean was referring to other than renting houses from him.

"OK~ here’s the thing." Dean took out pen and paper to make notes, "How many properties does Cheap Rent manage, just in Cleveland?"

"That’s hard to say," Jerry thought for a moment then shook his head helplessly, "because the data is always changing, and I’m only in charge of areas like Brooklyn, Middlefield, and Public Square. For precise data, you’d have to check at the real headquarters, which is in Columbus."

Jerry is a market manager under Cheap Rent’s Cleveland branch; his scope of responsibility is limited, and he doesn’t have the authority to access such data.

But Dean wasn’t discouraged, and he changed his question, "OK, no problem. Then let’s take Public Square as an example, how many apartments does Cheap Rent manage there?"

"About a hundred or so," Jerry knew the data by heart, he checked the latest market situation every Monday morning.

"So, based on Public Square, a Cheap Rent rental unit manages at least 300 or more houses," Dean scribbled on the paper, "counting the whole of Cleveland, Cheap Rent manages around 90,000 apartments or residencies of various kinds. This figure may not be completely accurate, but at least it has some reference value."

Jerry nodded in agreement with Dean’s statement; in fact, it was a conservative estimate. Jerry knew the actual figures were far more than that, otherwise Cheap Rent wouldn’t be the largest property management company in Cleveland.

"Over 90,000 properties," Dean looked at the figures on the paper with some astonishment, a vast market indeed. "Are all these houses rented out?"

"Of course not," what a joke, if they were all rented out, Jerry would wake up laughing in his sleep—he gets commission based on the rent, after all.

"So, do you have 50%?" Dean asked tentatively.

"Almost," Jerry answered noncommittally with a nod. In truth, it was only around 45%.

"How do you usually find tenants on the cheap, I mean in terms of advertising. Like television, newspapers, or flyers?"

"We use all of them. TV ads are generally managed and budgeted by headquarters. As for newspapers and flyers, it’s up to each regional manager to decide," Jerry explained. The latter two are heavily influenced by location, so they’re usually handled flexibly.

Hearing Jerry’s explanation, Dean tossed his pen down. "See, it looks like the ads aren’t that effective?"

"Uh..." Jerry stumbled over his words, as that was, to some extent, true. He always faced criticism from his boss at headquarters meetings for this issue.

"Jerry," Dean leaned in closer, "the business I came to discuss today is to solve your advertising problem."

"What?" Jerry didn’t understand how Dean, a student, could be involved with advertising.

"Ever heard of Price’s List?"

Jerry nodded. He did know a bit about it, thanks to the hot party last time.

Wait a minute! Jerry suddenly snapped back to reality, "So you’re saying it’s connected to you..."

"It’s mine!" Dean confirmed his guess.

"OMG!" Jerry was astonished, his eyes widening as if he was seeing Dean for the first time.

"Listen, Jerry," Dean picked up the pen and wrote a number on the paper, "30,000! Price’s List has over 30,000 regular users! Do you get 30,000 readers for each ad you post in the newspaper? Or can you distribute flyers to 30,000 people in Cleveland?"

The answer to that question was obvious to anyone; it was impossible. Even if it were possible, the cost would be too great.

"But Price’s List can!" Dean assured confidently, "Most of our users are students from college towns, and there are hundreds of thousands of students there. 30,000 is just the current number, by next week or next month, it will be a completely different story.

Jerry, you know what a college town means, right? The students there have always been the main force in the rental market. Just take my school, for example, out of twelve thousand students, only a little over a thousand choose to live in dormitories.

The rest opt to rent outside, plus students from Case, the medical school, the art college, John College, and so on. Can you imagine how big that audience is?

They’re not interested in TV ads, newspapers, or flyers, but they are interested in the internet. You know, young people like new things, and my Price’s List is their new favorite!"

Jerry was stunned by the blueprint Dean painted; he was also a young man not yet thirty, who had a vague understanding of the internet.

But he had never thought that one day the internet would become so popular. Tens of thousands of users? Happening right around him?

"Jerry, how much does it cost to distribute flyers or place a newspaper ad each time?"

"It depends on the number of flyers or newspaper circulation; it’s usually a few hundred dollars," Jerry said.

"Do you know how much it costs to place an ad on Price’s List?" Dean gestured with his fingers, "Four dollars!"

"Four dollars?!" Jerry exclaimed, raising his voice.

"That’s right, to post a rental ad on Price’s List, it only costs four dollars. And the ad stays up until the property is rented, meaning that it remains there until a tenant is found!"

"Dean, can I take that as a promise to me?" At that moment, Jerry had completely changed his attitude.

He was no longer nonchalant nor sarcastic. This was about business, about how much commission Jerry could earn!

"Of course, that’s a guarantee from the founder of Price’s List." Dean pulled a business card from his pocket and handed it to Jerry.

Jerry looked at the card; the blue Price List logo, along with Dean’s name and contact information, was clear and straightforward.

"So, the price remains the same for both long-term and short-term rentals, right?"

"Yes, our website provides feedback buttons for both landlords and renters. The ad is only removed after the transaction is confirmed. Of course, if the landlord, that is you guys at Cheap Rent, have a sudden change, you can also remove the ad early; that’s within your rights."

"Okay," Jerry spread his hands, "I really can’t find a reason to refuse at that price."

"YES!" Dean and Simon exchanged looks, excitement apparent in their eyes.

"Of course, we’ll also need to do an on-site inspection of Price’s List." Jerry wasn’t very familiar with how websites operated, so he needed to familiarize himself first.

"Welcome to Price’s List!" Dean stood up, extending his right hand.

"Pleasure doing business!" Jerry smiled and shook hands with him.