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)
Nothing......
I offer a service and they pay me for it..... that's it. I don't get gifts from my mortgage company, insurance company, utilities, Home Depot...or my grocery store the gas station or any other place that I don't have a personal relationship with.......
If you seriously think giving a $25 gift card to a tenant is the driving force for them to stay or go, then you are delusional on tenant motivations.
Now if I had some good tenant that is a single mother, with 4 kids working 2 jobs, I might give them something for the kids.... that's charity.... not a gift to make them "like me" and stay in my unit.
To each their own....do as you feel is fit...... but be real honest with yourself....
@Joe Splitrock I understand your perspective, but personally I believe there are lots of benefits to gifting (or more so, just being friendly throughout their tenancy) to tenants.
First, there's tenants of all sorts and nobody responds exactly the same given the circumstances or a landlords actions.There'll be people who disregard acts of kindness and who don't care, but there'll also be people who appreciate everything extra a landlord might do. You're humanizing yourself and reminding the tenant that you're not just this mysterious landlord collecting money. There's a fair share of tenants who will take into account that they have a nice landlord who they have a good relationship with. With a mentality like that, I bet the tenant is more likely to treat the unit better throughout their stay. The tenant will also have better communication with the landlord/PM which will lead to a smoother process all around.
"Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Have a gift certificate to the Pottery Barn, get yourself something nice. Oh, and after the holidays the rent's going up 10%. Ho, ho, ho, bish!"
As someone about to dive in and purchase my first rental, this is a question I had thought about but not come to any conclusions on. Appreciate hearing the perspectives from the Santas and the Grinches both. :)
I have received more gift baskets, candy, etc from vendors, banks, utilities, etc than I care to count. Those gifts did not turn me into the givers best friend....
IMO, managing RE is a people business.... and while I agree that it is a business and crossing the line into friendship muddies the waters, a gift for the holidays, in the appropriate amount, is not going to turn a business relationship into a friendship..
If you treat your tenants as the humans they are they will generally respect you more plus, knowing you are a real person and not just some big faceless corporation is beneficial if they ever need to make hard choices on who to pay if money is tight...
Oh, and as a tenant, I have rec’d gifts from my LLs.
I always give a little something this time of year as a thanks for being a good tenant, to past clients, future clients, and friends and family. This year I paid my tenant's past due water bill. If my tenants leave or I have to evict in future, I am liable for it anyways. It's Christmas, so I figured, "Why not?"
The grinches here make me chuckle. Whatever happened to showing some kindness?
If they have paid on time throughout the year, I generally reduce either their December or January rent (their choice) by $50. I've had a good response and know the $50 off rent is appreciated during the holiday season. That seems to be more impactful than a gift card and also reduces my taxable income for gross rents. Win for them, win for me. When my last tenant moved out, I told myself I wouldn't do any reduced rents for the holiday season (for reasons mentioned already) but I'm a softy so when we got close to Thanksgiving, I couldn't help myself. Great tenants are hard to find and definitely worth far more than $50 off rent.
@Joe Splitrock I seriously don't understand the categorical statement "has a neutral or negative effect". I know for a fact it has brought me two good new tenants on the recommendation of existing ones. I have received gifts from the LL as a renter, it always warmed my heart WITHOUT turning the relationship from business to personal. We give gas cards, like rent reduction, they are always welcomed in our car-dependent city. I'm happy to be on the Santa side.
@Joe Splitrock I understand your perspective, but personally I believe there are lots of benefits to gifting (or more so, just being friendly throughout their tenancy) to tenants.
First, there's tenants of all sorts and nobody responds exactly the same given the circumstances or a landlords actions.There'll be people who disregard acts of kindness and who don't care, but there'll also be people who appreciate everything extra a landlord might do. You're humanizing yourself and reminding the tenant that you're not just this mysterious landlord collecting money. There's a fair share of tenants who will take into account that they have a nice landlord who they have a good relationship with. With a mentality like that, I bet the tenant is more likely to treat the unit better throughout their stay. The tenant will also have better communication with the landlord/PM which will lead to a smoother process all around.
True story. A close friend of mine works at a company that gave gifts to employees every year at Christmas. The value was roughly $100 and it was always something different (never cash). People would complain it was useless junk. They would sell it on Facebook or Craigslist. They would complain, "why doesn't the company just give us a cash bonus if they have this extra money." Then one year, everyone got a $1000 bonus. They were all crazy happy, thankful and appreciative. The following year for Christmas, they got NOTHING. You would not believe how pissed everyone was. Even though the year before they got a cash gift equal to 10 years worth of gifts, it didn't matter. The gift made no difference. It was momentary happiness and once taken away, it created disdain that would never have been there if no gift was ever given.
You have to understand human nature. People react much worse when things are taken away, then any positive that comes from receiving things. This is the problem. If you raise rent $25, it can piss people off. Then give them a $25 gift card at Christmas and it is a slap in the face.
I am not sharing my experience so that people call me a Scrooge, but rather to help newer investors avoid mistakes I made.
$10 gift card for either gas or Starbucks, depending on the location. (I.e., if you're from NYC, your tenants probably won't have cars). Either way, it's two free coffees or ten bucks off gas - usually always appreciated!
OMG! Don't give them anything, you are just opening a can of worms. Like the mistake many parents make in this day and age, you are not their friend, you are their landlord. If you give a gift, you are sending the wrong message about the type of relationship you have with them. You become their friend instead of the landlord.
@Ley Nezifort a thought after reading ALL the responses. I’ll preface with I’m new to buy and hold investing and have yet to have any skin in the game, still learning and getting things in line.
All that said my thought is if you’d still like to get them a gift as I feel I still will once I acquire properties, why not get them a gift from “Santa”? I agree with what those have said about not personalizing things and also agree with those that want to empower kindness so to say. The only drawback to it being from “Santa” is of course them not knowing where it comes from. However that keeps it from being personal and still allows you to do your act of kindness. Just a different spin that may work from both angles of the debate here...
I give them a place to live in exchange for monthly rent payments.
Agree! When I was a property manager, the customers got good value for their rental dollars.
Yeesh, Amazon doesn't give me a present. I don't get this idea. Now, a real estate agent wanting my business again as a seller or buyer is another story. My agent sent me a poinsietta plant and a card every year. it was good business. Reminded me of her name when the day came I was ready to sell and it worked.
But, presents aren't what find and keep tenants. They'd much rather have you take care of noisy neighbors, and fix things when they're broken. They will never think - hey, where's my Christmas present from my landlord?
Do you expect one from your mortgage lender? Nah. I don't get this idea.
This is the newbie dilemma - you're so grateful someone actually wants to live in your rental and pays you for it, you feel obligated to give a present at Christmas. My advice is don't do it. You provide a safe house/apartment. They pay you rent. Don't make friends with your tenants. Be friendly to them, but they are your customers. The number one rule of landlording is Do not rent to family or friends. Your grocery store doesn't give you a gift for buying groceries. Or the gas station. But if the tenant only had enough money left over to buy food and gas OR pay rent, guess where your rent money would go? There is no need to reward people for doing what they are contractually obligated to do.
A lot of very interesting and entertaining responses. I think @Joe Splitrock put it best with the give something then take it away. Once you start something like this, you can never stop.
What about that real estate broker that just gave all his staff an average of $60K bonuses a few days ago? How's his $25 gift card going to be received next year? The poor guy's doomed!
Hey here's a question: if I buy say 100 x $25 gift cards for the hardware store, and go spend them, can I claim that on tax? My gift to the IRS, if you will...
My company gives all its 5000 staff a company logo item every year; we get to pick from the company store. There's some okay trinkets - thermal mugs, bags, jackets, etc. It's generally not received very enthusiastically by most employees....but I dig it! I like that they make an effort, and appreciate they conserve the bankroll.
I have found it shocking over the years of giving to folks In church the community in a landlord /tenant situation etc..how few will even come up and thank you later . I hate to say it but no good deed goes unpunished ! People suck and ~in general ~will not appreciate it . That is just a reality of the this world and the human condition as joe Splitrock eluded to .
Let’s face it landlording is a thankless job . Your friends will call you a slumlord . Your family thinks it wastes time away from them ,the tenants think your evil and a greedy oppressor ,The city thinks your a profiteer trying to get bilk money from the townspeople.. my advice is don’t make it personal your just going to be let down when the tenant leaves you With no rent ,a dead hooker stuffed in the closet and cat urine soaked carpeting