Companies are gearing up to bring remote workers back to the office, but there’s an army of people responsible for maintaining the buildings that have been there the whole time.
Kevin J. Beaty
Gail Steger Mock gives a tour of one of the 12 units she owns in Aurora. May 6, 2021.
Gail Steger Mock has been a landlord for 35 years. She got into the rental business because she wanted to do something that would have a positive impact on people.
“You get to help them have a decent place to live, and that s where I come from. I am not a slum landlord,” she said.
But after a year of the pandemic, her properties aren’t looking as nice as she would prefer. Outside a pale blue four-plex she owns in Aurora, she pointed out some of the maintenance that she’s had to delay.
People who who leave the unemployment rolls and find full-time jobs by the end of June will be eligible for more than a thousand dollars from the state.
The pandemic changed the rules of the rental market.
For the last year, it’s been far more difficult for landlords to evict tenants. Government intervention has saved countless people from losing their homes even as shutdowns cost them their jobs. At the same time, landlords say that they’ve been left powerless over their own properties, with some delaying mortgage payments and upkeep because their tenants aren’t paying.
Now, the rules are about to change again. The federal pause on evictions could be struck down by the courts in the months ahead, or it may just expire. At the same time, the government has made billions of dollars available to help renters and homeowners, but the aid has often been slow to reach those who need it.
Courtesy of Brittney Rae Reese
Brittney Rae Reese is co-owner of FIT & NU, a wellness company based in Aurora. She coached fitness classes there until the pandemic forced the company to go virtual.
Brittney Rae and Joslyn Reese figured they were on the cusp of something big.
For five years they’d grown FIT & NU, their wellness business that primarily serves women of color. Fitness classes were full. The nutrition programs were popular. The sisters were looking ahead to a time when they could franchise their concept.
Not so fast. The pandemic hit. The gym closed. Everything went, abruptly, online.