Rental Property Investor · Portland OR · Member since 2018 · 2k+ posts · 3k+ votes
7y
Well... i consider myself to be a pretty adept business person and I like to make money :). I also strive to be professional with my tenants.
While I would not hang out with my tenants, I do think a card or low cost thoughtful gift is fine. I always try to remember that my business is a service.
One final note: i find that being approachable, professional and kind is a win win for all involved.
Rental Property Investor · Erie, PA · Member since 2018 · 6k+ posts · 9k+ votes
7y
@Adrian Smude
Big mistake bro ! Don’t get into that mess . For one they will expect it every year for two it’s impossible to scale once you have a big portfolio and three your training your tenants to get freebies from you eliminating the unique im personal dynamic the tenant / landlord system creates. Don’t be their buddy or buy them crap . You’ll be sorry later
Here we go again, every year. Hobby landlords wanting to nurture a relationship with tenants by treating them like friends or relatives.
Landlords operate a business, we provide a service, we have no reason to cross over into the personal by exchanging gifts. Giving a tenant a gift, they view as being purchased with their money, is a big mistake. Most tenants resent landlords, don't rub their nose in it.
Rental Property Investor · Central, FL · Member since 2016 · 950 posts · 821 votes
7y
Has anyone incentivized their tenants going into the new year of pay your rent on or before the first all year and get entered into a XxX dollar gift card drawing? Just thinking of a win win.
A tenants lease already makes it clear that rent is due on the first. This is not optional, no incentives required it is mandatory if they wish to stay. It is a landlords responsibility to train them not bibe them to follow their lease.
Rental Property Investor · Tampa, FL · Member since 2018 · 251 posts · 124 votes
7y
@Adrian Smude
Personally, I would not do anything more than a card with my signature. But you could do a champagne or wine bottle.... It's a classic gift that never gets old.
Rental Property Investor · New York City, NY · Member since 2017 · 493 posts · 386 votes
7y
@Adrian Smude
You have good intentions but as you’ve read from many others it’s not recommended.
I do provide Xmas bonuses to my close team members, Handyman, Property Manager, Realtor and even my Mortgage broker if I feel they have gone above and beyond with their services I do it sometimes not always depending on how profitable my year was.
I have done Lease renewal bonuses for my tenants when renewing a lease. With some of my college rentals my tenants would inform me last minute that they were not renewing and by providing an early signining bonus it helped me to plan ahead and it gave them an incentive to let me know they are renewIng their leases early .
Rental Property Investor · Portland OR · Member since 2018 · 2k+ posts · 3k+ votes
7y
Well... i consider myself to be a pretty adept business person and I like to make money :). I also strive to be professional with my tenants.
While I would not hang out with my tenants, I do think a card or low cost thoughtful gift is fine. I always try to remember that my business is a service.
One final note: i find that being approachable, professional and kind is a win win for all involved.
Here we go again, every year. Hobby landlords wanting to nurture a relationship with tenants by treating them like friends or relatives.
Landlords operate a business, we provide a service, we have no reason to cross over into the personal by exchanging gifts. Giving a tenant a gift, they view as being purchased with their money, is a big mistake. Most tenants resent landlords, don't rub their nose in it.
Not sure about your experience but every business i have ever worked for sent out holiday gifts and as a consultant or EE i was on the recieving end too. So “operating a business” is not part of the equation of gifting for holidays. I DO think that the gift needs to be something simple and inexpensive that can not be seen as too personal.
Sacramento, CA · Member since 2014 · 513 posts · 319 votes
7y
@Adrian Smude, Wow, a lot of scrooges here! If your tenants consistently pay on time every time year after year and take care of your property and don't make the neighbors mad, a box of candy, or a $25 gift certificate from local grocery store is just good customer service. Some apartment corporations choose to do this as part of their tenancy retention budget - especially if their lease renewal date is coming up soon. However, if you think giving a token gift is too personal, why not opt to provide something that will benefit your property such as a free carpet cleaning after the first of the year or a yard clean up. Your tenants would appreciate that too!
Rental Property Investor · Concord, NC · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 3k+ votes
7y
Giving is wonderful and to be commended but do it through a charity or to where people need help. There is a reason your electric company, internet provider and dentist don't give you a gift - they are running a business to generate income. Lowes and Home Depot may give you a gift card but it is not because they love you, it is to get you inside the store.
Rental Property Investor · The Vampire State · Member since 2013 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
7y
I'm still waiting for my first gift for tirelessly keeping a safe and well-maintained home for my tenants at a very reasonable cost, taking calls at all hours, going out in bad weather, when it's scorching or freezing, and being polite and professional at every interaction, even when I didn't feel like that wasn't reciprocated or appreciated.
This is a business. It's a quid pro quo. My tenants are not "doing me a favor" by living in my buildings. It's supply and demand. If they find better value elsewhere, I lose a tenant; if they don't follow the rules, they have to go.
I'm offering a product and service that each tenant is electing to employ. We should have a mutual, professional appreciation for each other. I respect others' positions to do it, but gift giving blurs that line from my business perspective.
Rental Property Investor · Southern NH · Member since 2017 · 87 posts · 100 votes
7y
I’ve been in sales now for 18 years and believe in hanging onto good customers. I see every one of my tenants as a paying customer so I like to do small things here and there to make the good ones want to stay as long as possible.
Against that, a small, fun thank you gift at Christmas is just part of that effort to make them not want to move and risk renting from a landlord that does nothing for them or worse, makes their life miserable.
For the most part, my tenants have maintained an ownership interest in our properties and care for them as if they were their own and I believe it’s in part because I make the effort to treat them a little better than the average landlord does.
Professional · Upper Darby, PA · Member since 2016 · 11 posts · 13 votes
7y
@Mary Mitchell - it's sad to see the Scrooges coming out but I agree that showing our tenants some holiday spirit is a positive approach. Its does not need to be elaborate. And if you scale to a point where this becomes too much I am sure it would not be expected from tenants other than your long term residents. And if you dont see the importance of them.... Happy holidays :-)
I don't think that small time landlords understand the message they are sending to tenants and honestly this is not about being a scrooge.
To put this into perspective how about we get a few investors on here with 1000+ doors and ask them what they give their tenants as Xmas presents. No, they don't, why is that. They make proportionately the same percentage in profits if not more. Is it because they don't value their tenants or is it simply that they are too greedy. It's none of that. It's because small time hobby landlords do not have the vision to see exactly what message they are sending to tenants by giving them gifts. They refer to them as tenants but in reality they see them as much more. Tenants are not employees that need to be thanked for their service.
If you want to give your tenant/friend a gift by all means do so but don't wait around for yours. Tenants are not going to thank you for providing great service, they expect it of you.
Rental Property Investor · Tampa, FL · Member since 2017 · 70 posts · 115 votes
7y
I always read the threads about good-willed or charitable acts in REI because I love watching people flip out. This thread has not disappointed.
But how you approach these topics usually depends on your initial mindset. Trying to show kindness and holiday cheer v. trying to run max efficient REI business will probably get two different answers-- though not always.
A bottle of champagne for my inherited tenant who doesn't have any leftover weed money for rent will probably cause him to drink the whole bottle in one night and miss work again. And a Christmas card to him would probably go in the trash with his unpaid bills. For him, I give only the gift of eviction.
BUT
if I'm trying to grease the wheels with solid tenants in my new triplex while I raise their rent? This could be the perfect place for a gift (coupled with badly needed repairs to the property) as this "good-will" component may assure them that the new owner knows they exist and is going to provide all-around quality management. I want them to think that their life just got a little better and this is where they want to be long term which will help me avoid unnecessary vacancy costs and other headaches by keeping good tenants. Some people forget that there is also a customer service component to this business that benefits the business as well.
And if people are ungrateful and walk all over you it is probably because you let them pay rent late-- not because you gave them a poinsetta.
But to actually answer the question, a bottle of champagne will be a waste to the baptist tenants and the poinsetta will be a curious item to the college bruhs. A one-size fits all approach would be a small gift card ($25) to a store with general appeal.
Rental Property Investor · Dallas, TX · Member since 2015 · 501 posts · 504 votes
7y
I'm an investor in some apartment complexes of over 100 doors each, all run by professionals, not "hobby" landlords. In one case, the management chooses to have a Thanksgiving party, with turkey provided. Another property had an Easter Egg hunt for the kids. For not a lot of money, and a little staff time, the tenants enjoy themselves and build relationships with their neighbors, both of which make them less likely to move, even when we do raise the rent.
But I am not surprised that some would say it's a dumb idea. Others would probably cynically point out the ulterior motive behind spending $300 on a party that increases the likelihood that 20 or so tenants will stay even when we raise the rent by $50 each. But perhaps all you savvy business people should applaud the shrewdness of such a move.
Rental Property Investor · Ankeny, IA · Member since 2017 · 2k+ posts · 3k+ votes
7y
"Thanks for paying your rent. With your money and my profits, I bought you a cheap gift". Nope. Not doing that. Instead, I am giving them a great place to live, respond to any maintenance issues immediately, and only do maintenance inspections every 4-6 months, while leaving them alone to enjoy their home that they are renting from me. I don't wait until a religious holiday to do so though. I do this 12 months a year.
Rental Property Investor · Durham, NC · Member since 2016 · 7k+ posts · 7k+ votes
7y
@Penny Clark. I’m not a Scrooge, I give my tenants a place to live. Why would I want to give them gifts? They then think oh my landlord doesn’t need the rent, he’s giving me gifts. I prefer my tenants to think I’m the same as them. Just an average working class fellow. Also how is giving gifts scaleable? You have 100 units and give each one 25 dollar gift. You just spent 2500 dollars.
Landlording (Nearly) Universal Truth #45: "All tenants living at a property talk to one another, and often compare notes on various aspects of their housing experience."
Once he learns of your preferential treatment (via gifts) of some tenants over him, how would you explain to Deadbeat Danny that you value Sugar Sally's tenancy over his own? I think you are borrowing trouble and rancor from someone who is already looking for a reason to screw you over - his nearest representative embodiment of "the Man." And if he's a member of a protected class, this gets even more interesting.
Big mistake bro ! Don’t get into that mess . For one they will expect it every year for two it’s impossible to scale once you have a big portfolio and three your training your tenants to get freebies from you eliminating the unique im personal dynamic the tenant / landlord system creates. Don’t be their buddy or buy them crap . You’ll be sorry later
Dennis I wanted to add another comment to the thread directed at most people who say to buy gifts but didn’t want to tag them all, so I just chose your previous comment..
Think of it this way. Let's take any normal REI that has a mortgage (like most investors), does your bank send you a gift for paying on time? The answer is likely no. So why would you do this for tenants?