Back in the day, I know Jeffrey and Dot used to deliver Holiday Gifts to their residents. I don't know if they still do, they have substantially expanded I think.

Do you give Resident gifts?

I just placed my annual Holiday Order for our regular contractors - we send Kirkland Belgian Chocolate Cookies. $20 or so. "Thanks for all your help!" on the gift card.

But do you send TENANT gifts? I am kind of considering long-term tenant gifts, but then I need to track that and what if one year I forget or whatever???

I did it once a few years ago. I send boxes of various candies. I only heard back from one tenant who thanked me. I don't know if the others didn't get the gifts, didn't like them, didn't care...

Nope. I did those, anniversary gifts a few times and move in gifts.

Not anymore.

I will do it for my HVAC/electrician and my plumber because I need those guys!

As others have said, I did it my first year for tenants (a $50 gift card). Not a whisper of a thank you from any one.

For the last 3 years, my plumber who I have done business with for 9 years, gives me a gift basket each Christmas. Everything inside the basket is homemade too,..strawberry jam, honey, beef jerky, cookies and some other small treats. It is nice being on the 'receiving end' of gratitude.

If I get a Christmas card from a tenant, I will send one. I don't know what they need or want for a gift and anything casual I might give, like a box of candy, will probably be regifted.

I drop off a nice shaker container of sidewalk salt , with a reminder to shovel with 24 hours of snowfall, and tell them they can refill container with salt they buy. Pr'olly doesn't count as holiday gift though....*grin*

I was in the habit of giving out Costco gift baskets. They are about $22 CAD and quite impressive. But then I discovered Costco Boxes of Swiss Chocolates. They are $9.99 and hold 500g of chocolates. When wrapped in fancy wrapping paper bought from Costco and with a ribbon they look very nice. Tenants appreciate them and better relations save me grief throughout the year. My handyman gets a box as well. Everyone gets a Christmas card.

The only tenant not getting a box of chocolates is a grumpy bunch who are hard to deal with (and of course luxuriating at rent controlled rates) so they lose out, although I did mail them a card. A departing tenant will get a card at her move out inspection.

I have found that new tenants are genuinely surprised to receive anything at all from their landlord and this is a benefit. If it lifts and improves the tone of the relationship then I think it is worthwhile. Plus, it is Christmas and these people are helping us build our business through the year. Some appreciation is warranted.

Home made jam and a set of napkins.

YES! It's a perfect opportunity to promote our business!

Providing a home is assumed so we set ourselves head and shoulders above the crowd by being "nice" with a cheap gift.

It's cheap advertising! We MUST continually remind our residents how nice they have it and how nice WE are. Jeffrey taught on this at Convention.

Don't GIVE a gift and expect something in return, even a thank you. It was a GIFT, not a trade. Our blessing comes from GIVING, not from waiting for a response.

I don't like gifts with a dollar amount that can be judged. ("I pay them $10,000 rent and they give me a lousy $20 gift card!)

Wifey makes a monster batch of her incredible Chex Mix, we put it in tins and drop them off as we do the winter walk thrus. (can I write off a new double oven as a business expense??)

This year we're also trying a small box of handmade Christmas cookie assortment from a local bakery. No dollar amount, sentimental and yummy rather than materialistic.

BRAD

"Providing a home is assumed so we set ourselves head and shoulders above the crowd by being "nice" with a cheap gift."

PS

Residents come and go but city clerks/inspectors seem to live forever and can make life good or miserable. And good contractors are valuable.

The goodwill that comes from this luncheon is WONDERFUL!

Just had our Annual Christmas Party Luncheon - Contractors and all city/county workers related to our biz.

BRAD

Plenty - What is the title of the book that Brad recommended on poverty? We do 90% section 8 rentals and it is getting tougher and tougher to make things work. Would love to be more educated about what we're tryign to accomplish.

I live in Utah but I have 10 individual rental homes in my family trust.

I give cookies or candy ($20-$30)from Costco because we do not have a Costco in the costal town where my rentals are.

I always take care of my IC who take care of my properties with about a $50 gift from Costco.

On March 31st, I send each home a $30 gift card to a nice food place in the area. The thought is that it is time to turn our thoughts to spring and a night out is a good way to do that.

I have very little turnover and many families have been with me 3+ years. 3 homes are on Section 8. These 3 families are especially grateful.

Have a great Christmas!

If you decide if your are going to give something-- then the best idea i get from this forum is something that's keeps on happening for a while after Christmas-- not just a one time item at Christmas

Tin of cookies are what I do. I did more expensive once but stopped. I have rooming house also. 3 years in a row I bought the basic stuff for turkey day dinner and someone would volunteer to cook it or work together. This year I'm not none of them can cook. I am considering buying a cheap precooked meal and seeing if one of them is willing and able to heat it up. If not probably order pizzas to be delivered. Sometimes I give subway gift cards in their holiday card.

I'm always praying no one burns down the place. I have a couple dads get sons on the weekends. $15. Budget bought one Lego set the other board game. Per dad's requests when I asked what they liked. I also provided a small table top three for the kids to decorate and decor from the dollar store. Kids were thrilled. I now have 3 units with rooms. These guys barely make it. Most make minimum wage. Some are paying child support. They appreciate the cookies. Anything food since they don't cook. My apartment complex the tenants are having a part. I'll donate something for a main entre.

Every one who celebrate Christmas gets a wreath on the front door. They love it. Every one gets a card and cookies as a happy holidays regardless of what they celebrate.

I've gotten plenty of thank you but I don't expect it. I've gotten a lot of thanks for the wreath and the hanging arm for it. (Prevent crazy stuff trying to hang it.) One dad got teary eyed when he found out his kid vwas getting a gift.

Nothing ever with peanuts. Seems some one is always allergic.

My day labor guy always gets a gift card to take his lady friend to a nice restaurant. He loves that. This year he's spending time behind bars thanks for his drinking habit. So I'm gifting him money on his account to have a better meal and whatever else in there. Strong guy, loyal to me. Not Bright, gets in trouble ever so often. He'll be out in spring when I need his muscles to continue with the landscape. I always feed him well besides payment. He feels appreciated and thus loyal and hard worker and doesn't expect much pay. Can't buy good relationship or loyalty.

My skilled electrician and contractor. Box of candy for the wife. Some cool gadget or tool from home Depot. He's always checking out something when we go. Always says maybe I'll put it on the wish list for the kids or wife, May be get it myself. I'll pickup one he'd eyed early in the year. Again he's feeling appreciated and the best way to do so is that.

City folk downtown receive big gifts from the big guys I can't afford to compete,little stuff seems unnoticed. A card is sent. I just have a few units, I don't have it in my budget to spend hundreds. The inspector more appreciate I know his hobby and can talk with him about it and be interested. Speaking with him as a person verses our enemy.

The repour helps when they can him for Bs because they don't want to pay rent.

My best return on gifts is moving in. Surge protectors 2 for each and every room. Telling them it can help protect their valuable electronics from power fluctuating, when it's more so protecting me from blowing breakers and overload of old buildings wires.

LED, light bulbs. On rooming house saves me electricity. When they pay it saves them Money. Goodwill is important. Potholders from Dollar store. Tenants never seem to have them.

Since we only have 4 units (so far) and all are within 10 minutes of our residence, I'm personally delivering "thank you for being a great tenant" Christmas cards with gift cards inside to those that I want to do a quarterly inspection. Others I mailed.

What I found to be challenging is I wanted to give small gifts to all tenants' children. This kept me awake at night not knowing what to get. Next year I will reconsider getting gifts for the kids (although it is fun...can you tell I'm a new grandma?)

I want to stand out from the thousand other landlords in our area, so these small tokens of appreciation can (but not always) pay dividends.

Sarah [OR]

You must have missed the part I wrote stating

Most of our tenants are of age. We give each house one or two bottles of prosecco (sparkling wine) We generally get thanked.

We feel it puts the tenants in a better frame of mind when, say, a furnace quits working in a cold snap and it takes time to get repairman because, of course, in a cold snap thousands of furnaces quit working.

I am really puzzled but the "never have. never will" commitment. We get a few buttonhole tenants. But most really appreciate that we treat them well. And the few who try to "walk all over us" because we've been nice to them quickly learn that we have very clear boundaries.

No I read that part. Again you can afford this but can't afford less than 1k. Really? You choose not to afford!

Tenants not having to wait for you to fix maintaining is normal good landlord, nothing extra.

I can't relate.i have 13 tenants. Which means less profit, less money for being generous but we do it, like many.

How much did you pay for all those units.. and you can't afford a small token for the ones who gave you profit enough to afford to buy and or do all that lovely renovations.

Obviously your hearts not in it. Wealthy always justify their being cheap and thinking about themselves.

When you have 200 units you can afford it...or are you still too poor?

If you did not want our opinion on here, then don't tell us about your business. That's why it's a forum.

Sorry say whatever you choose to justify being you. Tenants probably don't expect anything from you anyway.

The rest of us who have better conscious or something. Will continue what we do..

Did you see the person who gave toys and turkey to her low income rooming house tenants. Think that person is wealthy or maybe kind heart and soul.

It's where you are at in your heart not your pocket that will decide to go certain routes.

Obviously your hearts not interested.

Carry on, I'm sure that will keep you busy with your profits with the new updates.

Lastly..if you believe in him, when you get to heaven, will he say well done great business investment, great renovations now look at at how well you have done made pretty well off renting those units...

Or....well done .. you showed kindness and generosity when the world celebrated...

Hmmm.. food for thought.

Sarah, you are very judgemental about my having so many units. I use to think people were wealthy who owned lots of units that's not true if they are remodeling and have mortgages. First thing, we a huge mortgage and have had to borrow all of the money. We don't have a single property paid for. We've worked really hard and these properties are our only source of income. We've put any of our wants in the future when we start being able to keep more of the money coming in.The properties we recently purchased were no money down because they were in such horrible condition that no one else would consider the purchase of these. We had to borrow most of the money to renovate these units and it won't be enough. We just had to pay a ton of property taxes also. Next Christmas we hope to have all of these renovated and then we will be able to give a more expensive present than a card to each tenant. This forum is supposed to be for landlords to share ideas and help one another than to Bash and Ridicule someone that has had a very trying year managing contractors, unreal expenses for new HVAC units, etc. When we had much fewer units it was so much easier than the adventure we've dealt with this year. It's also been a major job to have so many tenants. If you ever acquire this many units maybe you will be able to understand what I am saying. I do believe in God and I did a lot of praying before purchasing these run down properties.

Well touched a nerve obviously. If you sleep well at night then so be it. Sorry don't pitty you having so many units that I ought to feel sorry for you? I have right to my opinion sorry you can't handle it. You live with your choices each of us do.

Why put a question out there if you can't handle input.

But this is not a site for debating. So I'll not respond further.

For me whether I have 2 20 or 87. I'll treat my people the way I feel I should in good conscience. I doubt. I'd change myself if I had more. With great blessing comes great responsibility.

Or and I am single parent with disabled child who supports myself and paying my and my daughter way in college. We all have bills and expenses.

I just gave a tenants son a present when I went by today. The look on his little face, priceless. I'll keep my 13 tenants for now because I can choose to afford to do a little extra.

I agree Kitty. It's not being cheap, it's being practical. I think my tenants appreciate their rent being below market value more than they would a token end of the year gift. Besides you may be in a position one year to give gifts but not the next and then you run the risk of them being offended.

There are other ways to show appreciation besides giving out Christmas gifts. I can think of several things I did this year that would qualify.

With around 150 units, I will be delivering a small x-mas flower arraignment to about 20 older women who live alone. If they are home when I come by, I will chat with them for a few minutes if they are interested. Every year I do this and it always seems like a chore when I get started but at the end I'm always glad I did. Back in the day (15 + years ago) we used to do a catered dinner with entertainment and close to 90 people would show up. It was a bit of work and I'm not sure how much people appreciated it but it seamed like a cost of doing business. We stopped doing the dinner because over time people have lost interest in spending time with their neighbors.

I agree. They make our business. Showing a little appreciation, or a little holiday spirit or good business practices, which ever you maybe motivated, or all the above reasons combined. Rennie is right on the mark.

Sure new tenants will appreciate nice unit at a fair price. But current tenants well I agree they ought to be given a little something.

By the way I always do a little something, not that I do it for referring but I think my being such a nice landlord , I've had several of my tenants and various workers refer others to my rentals.

Is it the quality mostly, but also my tenants don't cringe when I come around. And well around here, landlord is synonymous with slumlord or crooked. I am neither.

I actually have a retired chef bake me way too many cookies as well as various other tenants giving me candy and brownies and all kinds of other goodies as thanks for being a great landlord.

I have always found a budget for doing something every year as at Least a card and tin of cookies. I changed it up every so often. They love subway gift card. Or whatever is the Pizza place that will deliver , and at midnight to the rental.

Holidays spirit my main motivation, good will a bonus.

On a side note reading all the debate earlier. I don't imagine it would be impressessive to the current tenants that their landlord is making old dump into beautiful units as why he or she can't afford a little something for the holidays.just reinforcement of the scrooge rep.

On a last side note.

I'm against sending cookies personally, because I know when we get them we throw them away (diabetic.) Just yesterday one of our tenants gave my husband a box of homemade cookies and he ate one and we dumped the rest in the trash so we wouldn't be tempted.

For my commercial tenants, they each get a small gift. This year it is fudge.

My residential apt dweller will each get a Christmas Card and some Candy Cannes taped to the door.

I also make it a point to hook up my trash man and the mail delivery person.

Sounds good, the thought is what counts. However I'd never give candles. I don't allow them used in my rental units, especially my rooming house.

Dire hazard. We just had a family in town burn down the house with candles. My friend years ago left a candle burning and fell asleep on the couch. Burned up half the living room before she woke. Wax dripping fun stuff to get out of carpet and couch. Seen them on window sill. Never want to encourage candles...

Sounds good, the thought is what counts. However I'd never give candles. I don't allow them used in my rental units, especially my rooming house.

Dire hazard. We just had a family in town burn down the house with candles. My friend years ago left a candle burning and fell asleep on the couch. Burned up half the living room before she woke. Wax dripping fun stuff to get out of carpet and couch. Seen them on window sill. Never want to encourage candles...

To me, the Christmas gift thing may cross a bit of a boundary in the business sense of things. I receive Christmas cards from my insurance agents once in a while and my chiropractor. I don't view my tenants the same. I'm not a Scrooge, we give to family and friends and out church.

However, I don't view my tenants the same way. One reason is, I don't know if they all celebrate it.

We all have tenants with various backgrounds and beliefs. To assume they have the same ones as I do wouldn't be right I don't think. I leave them alone.

A smile and a nod when I'm on site. A prompt response to repairs.

I think if you want to do the gift giving thing, it should be done as an anniversary type thing or for so many months of on tome payments. Even then, I think it should be something that benefits the property or unit too.

I don't want them thinking I'm too nice either. :)

This year we gave our residents electronic gift cards. Because we work our business more remotely and 99% of our residents are online, we sent them an amount and they can choose what gift card they want online. It was fast, easy and they get to choose their own card or if they want cash deposited into their bank account.

For our seniors, we had our helper drop off grocery gift cards.

My family has owned rentals through my entire life, and now I am the manager as my parents have retired. We have always given holiday gifts. It is rarely something consumable like cookies. I don't expect a thank you note or even acknowledgement of the gift.

Every year after Christmas, I troll through the big stores looking for discounted gifts that don't expire. So often times it is decorative items like LED candles, cookie jars, etc. I try to aim for between $10 to $15 for each apartment across a variety of small gifts. But that adds up to $20 to $50 worth of goods, as the tenants don't know that I bought the things on discount. The years that I do the holiday gifts they are more practical. In the years that my mother does the gifts they are more sentimental. I think the tenants can tell who did the gifts just at first glance. :-)

As not everyone celebrates Christmas, we give the gifts the Monday after Thanksgiving. There is a card for every tenant along with the gift. Frankly, this way if they don't want the gift it gives them plenty of opportunity to regift it; which I still view as a good use of the gift.

In the years that we have had many rentals, I have been in Walmart with two shopping carts full of random holiday stuff. And even had people inquire what I was doing, the store patrons not the staff, and said I was buying holiday gifts for next year for my tenants. You would be surprised to know that people ask for my card and if I have any available apartments. On the positive note, I rarely do have vacant apartments.

I think holiday gifts are just part of a landlord tenant relationship. I think that we all define that for ourselves, and that there isn't a wrong answer. To give, or not to give is just one choice of many, and that this point isn't what decides a good landlord or a bad one. In the end, I think tenants value being treated with respect and common courtesy more than any gift card. And on the odd occasion that my tenants have to have late rent, I feel that my occasional waive of the $50 late fee is appreciated more than any holiday gift.

I used to when I had a few units.

Now I send a text to the good ones and the bad ones, well its gonna be January soon which means no rent because their deep in debt from buying their kids "the best".

I beleive a personal text does more anyway.

I give a card, and a nice business calendar with my business info at the bottom, and a ink pen with my info. You can buy them in bulk at Vistaprint.