End Of Year Gifts For Tenants. Ideas?

I am thinking of offering some of my good tenants a gift at the end of this year. I have thrown around a number of ideas and was wondering what others might think are good ideas to use.



I have thought of a Wal-mart gift certificate, a refund of some of the rent in December or a framed picture/wall art. I am hoping to keep the overall gift in the $20 - $40 range if possible.



What are your thoughts? Good idea or not?



Thanks,

JS.

Comments(21)

  • NewKidInTown314th November, 2005

    My tenants with a good record of on time payments, get cash rebates. I code it in my accounting system as Rent Refunded To Tenant.

    For my tenants who have been with me one year, I give a $25 rebate. Two year tenants get $50, and so on up to $100 for four years or longer tenants. I try to time the gift to arrive around Dec 15th.

    I send a letter which explains that the gift is to express my appreciation for their timely rent payments and for taking care of the property.

  • krish14th November, 2005

    Would a gift basket with some fruits and treats not
    be nice?
    -Krish

  • Konte14th November, 2005

    Walmart during the holiday season have huge boxes of sweets for about $7.00 that ,with a nice card serves the purpose,in my opinion.

  • RonInAZ14th November, 2005

    I have a friend that gives 1% back for every payment made BEFORE it was due. Kind of a "Dear Mr. Smith, You paid Early in the following months and the enclosed check is my way of saying thanks!"

  • royalfortune14th November, 2005

    All my tenants get a $20 gift cert to the grocery store they shop at; I give them out to everyone between T-giving and Xmas, in person, and say thank you for being a great tenant. And this year, each house gets its own Super Plunger, too! Ah, Christmas...

    MC

    [addsig]

  • drake40016th November, 2005

    I gave $25 gift certificate to the local supermarket last year... both tenants were very appreciative

  • fmmp1st December, 2005

    I also have a small wholesale business so I normally give my tenants a choice of 10 items from picture frames, stainless steel utensils, leather wear(jackets, vests, tote bags), binoculars, tool sets, fantasy knives w/stands, swords, serving trays, etc.

  • mattfish111st December, 2005

    Quote:
    On 2005-12-01 16:10, fmmp wrote:
    I also have a small wholesale business so I normally give my tenants a choice of 10 items from picture frames, stainless steel utensils, leather wear(jackets, vests, tote bags), binoculars, tool sets, fantasy knives w/stands, swords, serving trays, etc.


    You give your tenants SWORDS?!?
    [addsig]

  • fmmp1st December, 2005

    Quote:
    On 2005-12-01 17:29, mattfish11 wrote:

    Quote:
    On 2005-12-01 16:10, fmmp wrote:
    I also have a small wholesale business so I normally give my tenants a choice of 10 items from picture frames, stainless steel utensils, leather wear(jackets, vests, tote bags), binoculars, tool sets, fantasy knives w/stands, swords, serving trays, etc.


    You give your tenants SWORDS?!?



    Decoratives not for decapitation.

  • NewKidInTown34th December, 2005

    I have had tenants use church groups and other charitable sources for one month rent when they have hit a speedbump. Perhaps you have some housing assistance programs in your area designed to assist people such as yourself with short term cash flow problems.

    If I were your landlord, you never would have gotten two months behind. I would have served you papers after your first payment is five days overdue with eviction 18 days later if your rent is still unpaid. Yes, Frederick County MD does have a very efficient eviction process.

  • Stockpro994th December, 2005

    Problems only grow with time, I would contact the LL and see what he will do for you, at the very least you will not worry about the unknown...
    [addsig]

  • InActive_Account4th December, 2005

    speaking with your landlord is the first step as the others have told you. If you own a free & clear vehicle go get a loan and put the car up for collateral.

  • flyboy4th December, 2005

    What state are you located in?

    Your LL is not in the business to accept property in lieu of $$$. He/she has the same obligation to pay bills as you do. With that said, you have NO choice but to discuss this with your LL. The longer you wait, the more difficult it will be for the LL to make any concession on your behalf.

    CALL TODAY!

  • NewKidInTown36th December, 2005

    Be careful about those car title loans. In some states the interest rate on a title loan is over 300% annualized.

    At those high rates, you risk losing your car.

    Talk with your landlord before doing anything. Maybe you can workout a payment plan to get caught up over six months by paying a little more than your minimum rent each month.

  • NewKidInTown36th December, 2005

    Be careful about those car title loans. In some states the interest rate on a title loan is over 300% annualized. At those high rates, you risk losing your car.

    If I were in your position, I might sell the mototcycle instead of trying to get a car title loan.

    Talk with your landlord before doing anything. Maybe you can workout a payment plan to get caught up over six months by paying a little more than your minimum rent each month.

  • finniganps12th December, 2005

    What attributes are you looking for in a prospective Sec. 8 tenant?

  • ASchaller13th December, 2005

    A high volume of prospective tenants is the best way to get a good Section 8 Tenant. I am looking to filter out the weeds because in the long run they can cost me more!! Ideally, the best Section 8 tenants are the ones who are not looking to get up on the system and are truly working mothers looking to get by. I should have rephrased my question to, "how does a landlord market to Section 8 to get a high number of interested tenants/applicants"? Thanks for the response.

  • YNKM25th December, 2005

    I am trying something new, I would advertise the local paper, when people call in after taking all the information I would ask them if they are section 8 or not, basically if they are section 8 I will run after them and give everything for them.

  • alexcturner25th December, 2005

    Hi, one way that has worked for me, is to go to the Housing office and talk with the representatives. They continue to send people to me even though I have told them I have no vacancies now.

  • joespine25th December, 2005

    I have 3 Secion 8 units and I found newspaper advertising to be totally uneffective in my area. I put a For Rent sign in front of the unit, and at the end of the description I wrote "Sect. 8 OK" and then my phone started ringing like crazy. Seems people in the neighborhood knew someone was moving out, knew they were Section 8, and could never find my ads in the paper. I would give it a try. For the cost of a $19 sign, you may get the same great results I got.

    Then after you get them calling, you can screen them to match what you are looking for.

  • ASchaller27th December, 2005

    Awesome Feedback. Much appreciated... I will try a professional sign in the front yard.

Add Comment

Login To Comment