Do any of you give Christmas gifts to tenants?
If they are "good" tenants, I'll hand deliver a gift card from the local grocery chain. They can use it for gasoline or groceries. Depending on the tenant, the denomination is between $25-$50.
For me, this accomplishes a couple of things.
1. General goodwill. Who would want to screw a nice guy like me?
2. I get to see the house/unit unannounced.
3. I get 20 cents off of 30 gallons of gas for every $50 spent on these cards!
4. In the overall scheme of things, I think it's a small price to pay.
Now for a tiny operation like mine, this type of deal is feasible. I put these gifts into Christmas cards and go door knocking. They are always well received. A few of the old timer residents will hand me some cookies or a re-gifted bottle of booze as well.
I think there's still something to be said for interpersonal relationships, especially around the holidays. That said, all lease rules are always enforced!
Do you guys do anything like this for your tenants?
Why, or why not?
I do the gift thing but only with TWO tenants. They are subsidized and have lived in my place for a long time. These are the two that maintain their apartments immaculately, fix things on their own without asking me, and are my eyes and ears all year long calling me when they see wrong doing going on............they treat my property with respect and look out for me like I was their friend, not their landlord.
Funny I was just thinking of this since my tenant sent me my check with a christmas card.
I was thinking of getting her son something since shes a single Mom but I dont want her to feel obligated to give something back. Maybe a card will do.
Giving a tenant something is the kiss of death! Don't forget the number one rule of landlording: NO GOOD DEED GOES UNPUNISHED!!!
I didn't read ALL the replies but I'm new, my wife advised me NOT to send cards or gifts. (she's my "all business" alter ego!) -- But my thought is that if I am going to give cards or gifts, I am going to do it to give thanks, that's all. Sure, I'd LIKE them to be grateful and I'd LIKE to get something in return, even something intangible, but I'm going to give because I'm thankful for the money they give and that's it. For my landscape clients and web design clients I send a hand crafted "sappy" letter. My cleints know I've written a couple of books, so they expect verbosity!
===my client letter====
Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah!
I am writing this in the hope that something very unique and inspirational comes forth. Over the past year, I have written and published my second book, and become a landlord with 16 tenants living in our buildings. Both these endeavors have changed me irreversibly, keeping me at the edge of my comfort zone the entire time. I have been offered some valuable lessons here, and I will try to squeeze some gems from this “long, strange trip.â€
From a spiritual point of view, a particular challenge in being a landlord is that often, I find myself upset with someone: Either because I’m being told a lie to avoid payment of rent or because someone is treating my property in a disrespectful way. Harboring resentment is not how I wish to spend my time, so my challenge is to be firm, uphold my terms and standards, and practice the art of “not taking things personally,†as outlined in one of my favorite books, “The Four Agreements,†by don Miguel Ruiz.
In writing my book, I filled it full of idealistic, time-tested advice for the purpose of guiding my young daughter through her time on this fantastic planet. I have been humbled several times, realizing that I sometimes fall flat on my face in my efforts to follow my own roadmap. (Go ahead, take my advice! I’m not using it!) This realization has me battling that fine line: Striving to be better, but being happy with who I am at the same time. I once heard someone say, “God loves us just the way we are…but he loves us too much to leave us that way.†I hope he’s not done with me yet.
I’d remarked in a previous incarnation of this letter that Christmas seems to be coming earlier each year, and I was not disappointed this year. And maybe I’m naïve, but the early arrival doesn’t seem to be “commercially†motivated. Sure, the window displays are switched from spooks to sleigh bells, passing right over sweet potatoes, squash, and stuffing; but I saw electric candles twinkling in house windows, low-voltage icicles on the eaves, and big inflatable Santa’s flopping around in leaf-strewn front yards, as if lamenting the lack of snow--all before the ink on the Thanksgiving shopping-list was even dry. This is good stuff. The number of days that we bear glorious, sappy, goodwill to all men and women, on an ever increasing upward trend; the angels would stand and applaud, don’t you think?
It was another good year for Central Maine Web, LLC. We are about to enter our twenty seventh year serving Central Maine. And I know it’s a cliché, but our success is owed to people: My family’s love and support, and the very life of the business--all of YOU. There are many other companies out there, and I pray that we never forget how fortunate we are that you choose us, year after year.
I leave you with these thoughts: May we always be thankful for simply being alive, having things that make us laugh, good food to eat, and good family to love; may God always help us to be the kind of people that make the world a little better just by being in it, and may we never forget that we are indeed our brother’s (and sister’s) keepers.
Thank you and bless you,
Ken, Deb & Elissa Rose LaVoie – The LaVoie Family & Central Maine Web