What do you get your tenants for Christmas?

Rental Property Investor · Brooklyn, NY · Member since 2019 · 106 posts · 47 votes

Fellow Landlords,

Given our tenants are our main customers, and the fact that the holidays seasons are approaching. I was curious to know how creative you all get when it comes to treating your customers for the holidays? How do you treat your tenants? What gifts do you give them? (if any)

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Frank Geiger

Rental Property Investor · NC · Member since 2018 · 776 posts · 776 votes

I give them a place to live in exchange for monthly rent payments.

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Nic S.Pro Member
Danville. CA · Member since 2017 · 313 posts · 221 votes
6y
@Ley Neziforta a rent bill. Lol
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Nic S.Pro Member
Danville. CA · Member since 2017 · 313 posts · 221 votes
6y
@Dennis M. Geez! Lol
0 Reply
Nathan Shankles
Rental Property Investor · Fresno, CA · Member since 2017 · 109 posts · 48 votes
6y
@Ley Nezifort one of my tenants is a nervous single mother of a teenager and I know she struggles financially, so I usually get her a $50 gift card. I do about the same for my other two tenants and a nice box of chocolates for my property manager.
“Give and it will be given to you, pressed down, shaken together and running over...”
4 Reply
Chris Purcell
Investor · Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2010 · 739 posts · 372 votes
6y
Originally posted by @Frank Geiger:
I give them a place to live in exchange for monthly rent payments.

Exactly my thought before I clicked on this thread
1 Reply
Rion Redinger
Flipper/Rehabber · Amboy, WA · Member since 2019 · 33 posts · 28 votes
6y
@Ley Nezifort
As a tenant for 17 years, I wish I had a landlord that had given me something other than the bill and a hard time.
Not all the landlords I’ve had over the years have been bad but a few have been, I’m just thankful that my family has had a place to live and stay warm all winter every year. I did have one landlord that had one of his maintenance guys come by and chop up a tree for firewood for us, and another one dropped a box of food when they knew times were tough, it’s the little things that show you DO care that make the biggest impact.
I’ll remember these people for the rest of my life and if I ever bump into them again I might just give them a hug! As I transition into being the landlord I want to be able to retain my sense of humanity and goodwill during the Christmas season and give my future tenants a little more than just a roof over their head.
That being said - a gift card I think is too easily thought of as your “extra” and can send the wrong message, a thoughtful gift hand delivered is probably the most impactful.
15 Reply
Jim K.
Handyman · Pittsburgh, PA · Member since 2018 · 5k+ posts · 13k+ votes
6y
Originally posted by @Martin Neal:
@Ley Nezifort It’s disappointing to see some of the grinches in this post. You’re allowed to give a gift as a tax write off to your tenants and I take advantage of it each year. While you don’t have to splurge, a small act of kindness can go a long way with communication and retention. If you’re a big time investor with 100 plus doors, then I get that your gift can seem unappreciated but smaller portfolios or self managed properties, the tenants notice. Every year I’ve given to my tenants they always shown their gratitude (but I only give to those who pay on time).

Martin, this isn't a matter of grinching. I once gave a $350 rent rebate to a tenant for Christmas, knowing her situation. I would say I fulfill the dictionary definition of a small, self-managing landlord. If you give your tenants a gift, the tenant automatically suspects (and rightly so, I might add) that the "gift" is coming back to them out of the rent they pay every month, or, put another way the rent is too damn high. In the case I mentioned above, there were special circumstances of the sort @Rion Redinger mentioned.

If I were in the tenant's shoes, I would feel deeply insulted if I got a "gift" from my landlord. That's why I do what I do.
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Pat L.
Rental Property Investor · Upstate, NY · Member since 2012 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
6y
3 Reply
Patrick J.
Rental Property Investor · Tucson, AZ · Member since 2019 · 173 posts · 87 votes
6y
@Rion Redinger
If someone has a massive portfolio and is making 6 or 7 figures in passive income per year, then helping out a single mom or whatever is no big deal but if someone only has a few properties, handing out gifts, credits and all this other stuff might eventually cause the tenants to start paying late and cause an eviction and cause a negative cash flow.
There's a balance between being nice and compromising your business and future. Its easy to be nice when you have a massive apartment complex cash flowing 6 figures a year.
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Martin NealPro Member
Rental Property Investor · Chicago, IL · Member since 2017 · 293 posts · 383 votes
6y
@Jim K. I guess it’s all a matter of perspective. Me personally, I’d received gifts from my landlord and couldn’t be more thankful. I remember thinking “they didn’t have to do that”. I also remember saying, if I ever become a landlord, I will pay it forward. This is still a human business and managing humans through relationships works. Even though this is a business for me, I still have personal conversations with tenants. (It doesn’t mean I don’t operate like this is a business and I won’t put them out and I make it clear).
Don’t get me wrong, there are tenants who will be pessimists or unappreciative. Don’t bother with that tenant. But understand, the whole idea behind giving is to give something without the expectation of receiving something in return. The same way we tell members on this site not to post in expectations of receiving private investors but in the sincerity of giving information that will help others succeed.
If you choose not to give, I’m not shaming you but don’t shame others who choose to do so.
8 Reply
Dick RosenPro Member
Property Manager · Gilbert, AZ · Member since 2009 · 1k+ posts · 451 votes
6y
@Ley Nezifort nothing, I’m already giving them a home for a fair price.
0 Reply
Joshua Mathis
Rental Property Investor · San Diego, CA · Member since 2019 · 17 posts · 10 votes
6y
@John Warren HAHA only for the tenants who pay on time 😅
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Joe SplitrockPro Member
Moderator
Rental Property Investor · Sioux Falls, SD · Member since 2015 · 9k+ posts · 18k+ votes
6y
@Martin Neal nobody is trying to shame landlords who give. We are just saying is has neutral or negative effect on tenant retention.

I am a very attentive landlord. I answer every phone call and return every text within minutes. I fix most every problem within 24 hours. We do proactive improvements at properties like painting, deck replacement and roofs. We use high quality materials and thoroughly go through properties to fix every problem during a turn over. We stay out of our tenants business. These are the qualities that make a good landlord.

@Nathan Shankles we like to give to the needy at Christmas by grabbing gift requests from gift trees. We like helping seniors or mentally disabled people in group homes. They are forgotten people. This type of giving is anonymous, with no expectation of anything in return. Everyone on here is saying give a gift and it buys good will with the tenant. I am not sure that is what the bible teaches.
Ultimately there is no right way to landlord, just different approaches with different results.
4 Reply
Nicole Heasley Beitenman
Investor · Youngstown, OH · Member since 2017 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
6y
I make home decor with my Cricut machine! Reverse canvases that say "Home sweet home."
2 Reply
Fred Cannon
Rental Property Investor · St Augustine, FL · Member since 2019 · 265 posts · 279 votes
6y
@Ley Nezifort this year one of my tenants is getting an eviction notice for non payment of rent. They rest are getting a nice place to live.
3 Reply
Nathan Shankles
Rental Property Investor · Fresno, CA · Member since 2017 · 109 posts · 48 votes
6y
@Joe Splitrock great point Joe. “When you give, do not let your left hand know best your right hand is doing...” thanks for the reminder my friend!
2 Reply
Account Closed
Specialist · San Antonio, TX · Member since 2012 · 865 posts · 351 votes
6y
The kinder and more understanding the tenant believes you to be the less they pay on time. They will tell you thier sad stories and pay you last:(
It’s not about the price of the gift 🎁, but it turns the tenant into a family or friend. You ever evicted a family or friend? They pay you last, because your such a nice understanding person that loves Jesus and them😇.
This is not my first rodeo brother.
3 Reply
Andy WebbPro Member
Rental Property Investor · Carrollton, TX · Member since 2013 · 750 posts · 538 votes
6y
We used to send out a Christmas card with a gift card for a local restaurant, but stopped a year or so ago when our portfolio reached a size that we decided it no longer made sense. Did not seem to make a difference one way or the other in any renewals since then.
Andy
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JD MartinBusiness Member
Moderator
Rock Star Extraordinaire · Northeast, TN · Member since 2015 · 10k+ posts · 16k+ votes
6y
Originally posted by @Martin Neal:
@Ley Nezifort It’s disappointing to see some of the grinches in this post. You’re allowed to give a gift as a tax write off to your tenants and I take advantage of it each year. While you don’t have to splurge, a small act of kindness can go a long way with communication and retention. If you’re a big time investor with 100 plus doors, then I get that your gift can seem unappreciated but smaller portfolios or self managed properties, the tenants notice. Every year I’ve given to my tenants they always shown their gratitude (but I only give to those who pay on time).

I don't think it's about being a "grinch". The problem with gifts, as I see it, is that it alters the relationship from professional to personal. Professional relationships generally interact on a value for value basis - cash for services, services for services, etc. Personal relationships generally interact on a personal satisfaction for value basis - you don't expect Christmas presents from your children, for example, and if you don't get them you still enjoy giving presents because it makes you feel good. In a business that deals with services extremely close to most people's heart - their home - crossing the line from professional to personal is dangerous. I don't worry so much about what my tenants might feel about the value of the gift, or that they'd rather have cheaper rent - what would concern me more is their impression that we have now somehow become "friends", and that they thus are now empowered with all the rights and privileges thereof. I am friendly with all my tenants - I don't want them as tenants if I have to hate their guts - but our relationship generally consists of each side's part of the bargain for as long as we are doing business. Once we quit doing business - generally, when they decide to move on for whatever reason - the relationship is over.
If one were to scour the BP posts about landlords who have gotten in trouble with tenants, almost all of them have some type of dysfunctional relationship with their tenant that exists outside of a "payment for services rendered" relationship. You don't see people posting about these weird situations when it comes to buying an Iphone or getting car insurance.
Every landlord has to do as s/he sees fit within the boundaries of the law, but those with long-term success are more likely to treat this like any other type of business.
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Account Closed
Member since 2019 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
6y
@Andre Taylor
Same but $50. But that’s Canadian dollars so... bout $35 USD. If they’ve missed a payment that year they get the card only.
0 Reply
Andre TaylorPro Member
Rental Property Investor · Chicago, IL · Member since 2017 · 219 posts · 180 votes
6y
@Account Closed smart minds think alike :)!!!!!!
0 Reply
Account Closed
Rental Property Investor · Chicago · Member since 2018 · 3 posts · 1 vote
6y
I give a small gift every year!
Typically its a holiday popcorn set, or candies. I personally don't mind doing this. I feel like it personally has no impact on my business from a negative perspective. My tenants know I stick to the lease, pay late then you pay a late fee. Simple.
Customer service impact, and tenant retention is important to me. They could choose another place to live at anytime. I believe if you want long term business, there are certain ways you have to go about things. Working professionally in business, this practice is done a lot. Business client lunches are a prime example of this.
Its not uncommon in my professional career to practice this method, so I adopt this in my real estate business.
1 Reply
Josh Shamoil
Developer · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2018 · 2 posts · 1 vote
6y
@Frank Geiger 100% the way to do it.
1 Reply
Lena S.
Landlord from Addison, IL · Member since 2017 · 55 posts · 5 votes
6y
free rent ;)
0 Reply
Dylan Phillips
Real Estate Agent · Phoenix, AZ · Member since 2019 · 22 posts · 12 votes
6y
@Brandon Turner & @David Greene just talked about this on a podcast lol... They brought up a good idea... Send out 25$ to each of your tenants, and next year only send it to the ones that say thank you. Their point here is that we (as landlords) think giving back is what we do, but the tenants a lot of the time will just take it like they were owed something. HA! As a past tenant for years only one landlord ever gave me anything... a cheap bottle of wine.
3 Reply
Karen HigginsPro Member
Minneapolis, MN · Member since 2017 · 83 posts · 89 votes
6y
We've never given out holiday gifts in the past, but just acquired a 15 unit building of primarily elderly tenants, in a rural area, and gave them all a $20 gift card to the local grocery store just before Thanksgiving. Tenants were very appreciative and it was a great way to show the tenants that we care about them even with this change. The prior owners had owned the building for 15 years and this was their only investment property. They were heavily involved in the property and had a more personal relationship with most tenants. We have a property management company that manages multiple buildings and this was just a way to boost moral with the change.
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