My best landlord ever did this_________....
Hey BP,
Trying to get ideas about ONE THING that really stuck out that your previous landlord did that made the relationship a memorable one (in a favorable way). Conversely, feel free to add something that a terrible landlord did as something to avoid like the plague....
Thanks!
James
I realize this is very situation specific, but I was renting when Hurricane Katrina hit NOLA. Before I returned from evacuating, my LL had already dragged out the (now) nasty fridge and replaced it with a new one.
My worst experience was an apartment complex I lived in. Although they were good about sending their maintenance staff right away when there was a problem, they only did quick "band aid" fixes instead of fixing the actual problem.
For example, my second summer there, 1x/week my A/C would suddenly stop blowing cold air. Because it ran out of Freon. So, every week, I'd spend one night incredibly uncomfortable in my 90-100 degree apartment. They'd send a guy to fill the Freon the next day. And then it would run out again about one week later. I pointed this out to them and begged them to just fix the root problem. They refused.
Same thing in my last winter. The heating kept going out every few days. They had a maintenance person there 5-6 times. It would get fixed, but then go out again a few days later. They refused to call a real heating/a/c company, until I threatened to report them for providing inhabitable housing due to lack of heat. Only then did it actually get permanently fixed.
Last, but not least, I reported numerous times that the fire extinguishers in my common hallway...which are all required to be checked by the fire department every year...were all three years past their last check date and all showed the arrow in the "recharge" position. But apparently they don't care if their building burns down and kills their tenants, because they did nothing about this very easy to remedy issue in the two years I lived there.
If they would have just fixed my A/C that was apparently leaking Freon like a sieve and the dangerous fire extinguishers, I would have stayed living there another 2-3 years...because I loved the location and everything else about my apartment and the complex. Instead, I moved right before summer started so I wouldn't have to spend one more miserably hot night in that place.
FYI, I wish I'd know then about the going to court and putting the rent in escrow trick. I bet they would have been super quick to bring their extinguishers up to code and permanently fix my A/C.
My tenants had a baby so I sent them a $25 gift card to baby R us when they told me there where pregnant and then bought another $25 of baby stuff when their daughter was born. This was a high risk pregnancy after miscarriage and a losing a child to SIDs. In turn I invested the late fee back into them.
I will also send them some type of xmas gift around $20 range.
I haven't had many landlords. The best allowed me to break a 12-month lease 7 or 8 months into it. They said as long as I gave at least a 30-day notice and left the place clean, they were okay with me moving. I was so relieved at the time, because I couldn't really afford to lose my security deposit at the time, and I didn't want to take a hit on my credit rating. Now that I'm a landlord, I never hold a tenant to a term lease as long as they give me proper notice and leave the place clean. It's the right thing to do.
Originally posted by @Randy E.:
I haven't had many landlords. The best allowed me to break a 12-month lease 7 or 8 months into it. They said as long as I gave at least a 30-day notice and left the place clean, they were okay with me moving. I was so relieved at the time, because I couldn't really afford to lose my security deposit at the time, and I didn't want to take a hit on my credit rating. Now that I'm a landlord, I never hold a tenant to a term lease as long as they give me proper notice and leave the place clean. It's the right thing to do.
Can't say I agree with saying "it's the right thing to do". It's definitely a very nice and friendly thing to do but whats the purpose of a 12 month lease if you're not going to enforce it?
I only rented for 2 years but we were happy to receive a $100 target giftcard when we moved in.
Originally posted by @Chris K.:
Originally posted by @Randy E.:I haven't had many landlords. The best allowed me to break a 12-month lease 7 or 8 months into it. They said as long as I gave at least a 30-day notice and left the place clean, they were okay with me moving. I was so relieved at the time, because I couldn't really afford to lose my security deposit at the time, and I didn't want to take a hit on my credit rating. Now that I'm a landlord, I never hold a tenant to a term lease as long as they give me proper notice and leave the place clean. It's the right thing to do.
Can't say I agree with saying "it's the right thing to do". It's definitely a very nice and friendly thing to do but whats the purpose of a 12 month lease if you're not going to enforce it?
I only rented for 2 years but we were happy to receive a $100 target giftcard when we moved in.
I totally understand what you're saying. My POV is a long-term lease is to protect me from bad tenants. I don't need protection from good tenants. If they are good in every other way, but they need to break their lease a little early, I can live with that.
One thing to note about breaking a lease 8 months into it is the seasonality. If I have a 12 month lease July to June, I would not be inclined to allow my tenant to break the lease. But, if breaking the lease leaves me looking for tenants in the Spring/Summer I am open to it. Additionally, I like working in a fee for breaking the lease because you are having to invest time/money that would have otherwise been deferred for a few months. Just my $.02.
Rented a townhouse (in Connecticut) that had swinging "saloon" doors between kitchen and dining room at the EXACT hight of my youngest sons forehead! After multiple black and blues due to the older son swinging the doors "by accident", I asked to have them removed. The Landlord said "sure... just ask the maintenance guy next time you see him". sounded reasonable.
Fast forward 2 years...I was charged $600 to "replace stolen saloon doors" because there was no official record of me requesting them be removed and stored (even after showing him a photo of the doors on the counter during move out, still no refund!). Lesson learned! (actually, 2 lessons... get it in writing and never rent anyplace that thinks saloon doors are a good decorating idea)
This is a bit in reverse as I am the landlord but for my current tenants a bit of a different situation as they are a military family.
The situation was them moving in to my property in Texas and driving from Illinois. Husband and wife, two kids, 2 dogs.
From experience I know that military moves are fast paced and stressful so I did a few things to ease their transition;
Made sure they left Illinois with keys already in hand even though their lease wasn't officially started so they wouldn't have to go to a hotel or wait to link up with my agent for keys if they arrived at odd hours.
Left Directv hooked up and operational so they could keep the kids entertained during unloading.
Sent a large fresh fruit and snacks basket from Wine Country Gifts so they could have something immediately coming off of road trip food.
Left them some furniture so they wouldn't have to get everything unloaded right away just to have a place to sit and relax after a long trip.
Left them recommendations for the best vet in the area in case they had problems with their pets upon arrival.
Just little things that I hope made for a little less stressful day 1.
That is a great post and some amazing things that you did for them!
I am a former military man (US ARMY), and I agree that it is stressful moving while in the military!
I just want to drop you a note and say good karma will come your way!!!
Originally posted by @James Brand:
Hey BP,
Trying to get ideas about ONE THING that really stuck out that your previous landlord did that made the relationship a memorable one (in a favorable way). Conversely, feel free to add something that a terrible landlord did as something to avoid like the plague....
Thanks!
James
Hi James, I'm wondering about your motive for writing this.
My first thought, as a renter, was that the one thing my favorite landlords have every done - is just be fair and follow the law.
If your thinking is that you need to be a tenant's friend, I don't think that's a good idea. As they say, don't mix business and pleasure. If you're too friendly, some tenants will take advantage.
But, if you're just fair and follow the law, they can't fault you for that.
@James Ihssen Thanks and thank you for your service.
@Sue K. I respectfully disagree with a couple of your points;
I don't believe there needs to be a motive to delve deeper into learning from others and what's worked and what hasn't in maintaining excellent landlord/tenant relationships. Our past experiences inform our current practices. Not learning from mistakes or contemplating what went right / what went wrong in past tenancies would be foolish.
If a tenant is evicted I can guarantee that tenant isn't walking around saying "my favorite landlord was Bob because he followed the law when he evicted me. I think it was fair because I didn't pay my rent" 100% an evicted tenant will fault you for following the law instead of listening to their tale of woe for the umpteenth time.
I also don't subscribe to the theory that you can't be friendly, it has nothing to do with setting standards and enforcing them, It absolutely benefits me if a tenant is happy with all aspects of renting my house by reducing turnover, if being friendly adds to a positive experience for all its win-win. They also know I have no problem evicting for non-payment, I'm not mad at you, we can drink a beer after court if you want, lol, it's just business.
Hey @Sue K.,
Thanks for posting. My goal was to see what memorable things people have done or experienced with landlords that made the relationship positive. Sometimes the simplest things can go that extra mile and cause for your tenants to sing your praises. That to me means less turnover, less vacancy, and an overall better relationship.
-James
@Jim Adrian
I give gift cards at YE holidays with a thank you note for being with us this year ... blah blah...
I'm a landlord, so a different angle, but we discount the rent at Christmas (I think $50) - also discount $25 if they pay on or before the 1st of each month.
When current tenants move in, we leave a basket of cleaning items - paper towels, 409, dish soap, etc. on the counter for them.
I haven't had too many good experiences with landlords, but the worst I can remember was 4 years ago. My wife was home alone while I was working and she stepped out of the bathroom to see movement in the bedroom, so when she looked around the corner, the landlord was sneaking back out the back door. This was the same one that refused to fix a leaking roof that was leaking water directly on the breaker box in the house. We didn't stay there too long. The thing I hear from my tenants that they really like about me is that I'm approachable. They know that any time, for any reason, they need to talk, they can come hang out and chat with me. I'm a normal guy, I like my guns, I like my hunting, I like my trucks, I drive a truck for a living, and I know that stuff happens and sometimes you just need some company. My renters and I have sat around the firepit telling stories and laughing for hours. Sometimes just being a decent person means more than money ever could.
Thanks for the input all.
@Tina Tarkington, I really like the idea of making a nice gesture to your tenants around the holidays. In the most recent podcast, 147, Johnny Yousseff had a similar practice of gifting his tenants mugs.
I don't have much to add that is good for business. I have given a few tenants who were down on their luck a break here or there. I have also had a few tenants who were good about fixing things and never asking for compensation. I would sometimes find out about a minor repair and order a few pizzas in for their family. I wanted to let them know I appreciated things like tightening the screws on a loose hinge or cleaning out a hair clog from the bathtub. I have often had tenants help when I go to work on their place. When they do have a problem I try to really go above and beyond. The new fridge I buy goes in their place, or they get new linoleum in the kitchen sooner than planned, etc.
I had my rental refinanced last year and after it was done I send a thank you note and gift card for the inconvenience to them. I try and treat my renters the way I would want to be treated.
Originally posted by @Tina Tarkington:
I'm a landlord, so a different angle, but we discount the rent at Christmas (I think $50) - also discount $25 if they pay on or before the 1st of each month.
When current tenants move in, we leave a basket of cleaning items - paper towels, 409, dish soap, etc. on the counter for them.
I do something like this. When new tenants are moving in, I have a full roll of toilet paper in each bathroom. Unopened soap in the shower/bath. Hand soap dispenser at each sink. One roll of paper towels on the kitchen counter with one garbage bag. 12 pack of bottled water in the fridge.
I think of it as providing the kind of little life necessities that most people don't think of until they need it NOW! But don't know where they packed it, lol. It costs me less than $10. People seem to be most impressed with the bottled water. I get the most compliments on that.
I also give a box of good quality chocolates around the holidays with a thank-you card for being a great tenant. However, perhaps it's Scroogey of me, but that is only if they have been a decent tenant and/or haven't given notice.
I have also provided a discount off each months rent if paid by the first of the month. It really had tenants strive to pay early or almost always on time.
When I was young, my girlfriend and I rented from a tenant who was very approachable and timely. If we had any problems they were solved within a few days
My current in-town tenants move often, about every 12-18 months because of the husband's job. (Which is too bad - they're great!) However, they usually buy "new" furniture & appliances once they move in & sell them when they move. (This situation could well apply to military families, as well.) Anyway, they don't have any holiday decorations & I provide an appropriate wreath for the front door out of my own HUGE stash of stuff. Not a big deal, but the wife really likes having a little seasonal decor. No cost to me, makes them happy - happy tenants, happy landlord! I also provide a planter for the front porch - again, a little "plus" that costs me nothing. All they have to do is water it.
My Grandmother would give her tenants 1/2 off Dec. rent if they paid on time every month. The tenants loved it and actually paid the rent on time. Of course my grandmother could do that because she had no debt.