Page 161 - Trump Never Give Up: How I Turned My Biggest Challenges into Success

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T R UM P: N E V E R G I V E U P

improvements we made included replacing the ugly aluminum
front doors on the apartments with colonial white doors. We
also put white shutters on all the windows, which considerably
improves the aesthetics of a large mass of red brick buildings.
We made sure the grounds were properly landscaped and
maintained, and that the apartments were freshly painted and
perfectly clean. The change we made was impressive. When we
were finished, we ran newspaper ads in Cincinnati. People came
and were impressed. In less than a year, Swifton Village was 100
percent rented, and it looked fantastic. It was a beautiful place
to live.
The next crucial challenge when you have a complex this
size is to find a project manager. We went through at least six or
seven before we found a person suited for the job. I’ll never for-
get this man. He wasn’t politically correct, he was as incorrect
and insulting as they come. He was the personification of a con
man. As it turns out, he was a con man with a very colorful
record of multiple swindles and cons to his credit. But he was a
fantastic manager. He could work quickly and get things accom-
plished. The other managers were perhaps more honest, maybe
more affable, but they were ineffective and nowhere near as
sharp. I knew I’d have to keep my eye on this guy, but at least
things would get done. He also knew how to collect rent, which
is not always an enviable job. That’s another thing that made
him suitable. This wasn’t an easy situation from the get go, but
it was a great lesson in human nature and looking positively—
and creatively—at someone’s qualifications. Outwardly the guy
looked and acted like a disaster, but he was the one who did the
best job.
He got Swifton Village running well enough so that I didn’t
have to be in Cincinnati very often. I knew he was probably rip-
ping me off, but he kept the place well and people actually paid
their rent. The project was a resounding success. A few years
later when I was visiting the property, I ran into a tenant who

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