Life in the Ville by Jimmy Del Ponte

With the uncertainty of another pandemic relief package, I hope all my friends don’t have any trouble paying their rents or mortgages.

I’m lucky to have a pretty savvy bunch of dyed in the wool Somerville friends. We may grumble a lot about some of the changes we’ve lived to see in our beloved city, but we’re still loyal and will defend Somerville’s name … within reason! (I’ll need some time to call some back up!)

The majority of my childhood friends moved out. They were looking for more bang for their bucks or they wanted to leave the three T’s: traffic, taxes, and … tariffs.

Other circumstances forced some to move, like ridiculously increasing rents and house prices that were out of reach. My friends who moved away love the decision they made. They have beautiful homes, not in Somerville.

A pal of mine just sold his well-kept house on the bike trail near Y-NOT convenience store and split for greener pastures with his nice bulging bag of loot. It wasn’t a family passed down house. This kid bought it, paid the mortgage for years and years, raised his children here, then cashed out. Best of luck to him. His old house will sell for a bundle on the condo market. Location, location, location.

Some of my friends are bitter because they couldn’t afford to stay in Somerville and that’s totally understandable, but truly sad. I hear it all the time. “I’ll always love Somerville but it’s too expensive to live there!” Yes, it’s pretty expensive here. The rents are out of control and house and condo prices are steep.

A lucky few kept their Somerville home and live “up north” someplace. They rent out it their Somerville property. Those are the smart, the extra hard working, and the lucky. They probably hire a property manager so they’re not driving to Somerville every time a toilet is clogged. That’s a headache I couldn’t deal with.

Several Somerville friends of mine run their family handed down house like a business, and like any business it can be very trying. You have to be on your toes and ready for anything if you’re a landlord. You have to expect distress calls all hours of the day and night.

A friend told me that the last tenant they had were two twenty something guys. One was friendly, the other was a complaining pain in the ass. “They broke the fridge, then they clogged the bathroom sink really bad, and finally they broke the stove.” The place was no Taj Mahal, but it was conveniently located. The landlord fixed the broken appliances and called a plumber but one of the tenants became violent and threatened my friend, an elderly fellow. Although it was in need of a few updates, it came with off street parking. It was also within stumbling distance of all the restaurants and gin mills in Davis Square, and the Red Line. File under D for disgruntled.

Today my childhood Somerville friends are peppered all over the place from Florida to New Hampshire and lots of places in between. Two close old friends own three family homes. They live in one apartment and rent the other two units. They are endlessly repairing, replacing, and updating. There’s always a leak, a clog, a faulty smoke alarm, or a blown circuit breaker to deal with. Oh, and some of the places needed to be de-leaded. The comfort of owning property sometimes gets overwhelmed with stuff that breaks and demanding tenants.

If you bought a home 20 or 30 years ago in Somerville, you can make a fortune if you sell and buy something cheaper and away from the hustle and bustle of the city. You can also condo your home, sell one unit and live in the other if you want to stay here.

I’ve watched friends lovingly care for their elderly and sick parents, and when they were gone, they fixed the family home up and rented it out. It isn’t easy. It’s a full-time job. It’s the family “business.”

Soon there will be a T station within walking distance of just about every neighborhood in Somerville, kind of like Boston. I bet housing prices will go even more nuts. In the meantime, my Somerville friends who still live here love Somerville. We finally figured out where the best pizza is, and the best places to watch sports and have a cold one. (best corner store, Y-Not) We also know all the good driving short cuts and which places to avoid.

God bless us all during this pandemic. Many of my friends are in the health risk danger zone. Be vigilant, wear your masks, and let’s pray that we all stay safe.