Letter To Tenants From New Management
I will be closing on a four-plex next week and was wondering if someone could give me some ideas of what kind of letter I should write to the current tenants introducing myself as the new owners? They are currently all on a month to month lease and I want to get them on my month to month or 6 month lease. Also thinking about raising there rent 5.00 but then giving them a 5.00 discount if they use automatic withdrawal for payment of their rent. Any ideas on how to inform them of all of this? Any examples will be appreciated. Thanks.
It's not ideal (every time I read it, I find something I could have stated better), and you'll have to tailor it to your particular needs, but here's a letter I sent out to tenants of a new property a couple months ago.
_____________________________________
Dear Mr. Smith
As you may already know, the building in which you are living, was sold yesterday. As the Managing Member of the investment group that purchased the building, I would like to take this opportunity to introduce us and provide you with some important information.
(Instert your company name), purchased this property from the (Insert sellers name). The property managers at (Insert address) will be Mr. & Mrs. Jones. They can be reached at 000-0000.
Included with this letter are copies of your new rental agreement, as well as a rental application. Please note that every tenant 18 and older must complete a rental application. We are not asking that you reapply for your apartment. But as the owners and managers of this property, it’s important that we have the information contained in the rental applications. Let us know if you need additional rental applications. Likewise, the rental agreement must state the exact number of tenants residing in the apartment. If the number of tenants indicated in the rental agreement is incorrect, please let us know. After reading carefully, please complete and sign both the agreement and the application, and send them to (Insert company name) at the following address:
(Insert address)
Please note that beginning with the rent payment for October, your rent payments should be made payable to (Insert company name) and should be sent to the address indicated above. If you have already sent your rent payment to the previous owners, don’t worry. Just let us know, and we’ll contact them to have your rent payment forwarded to us. Also please note that rent payments, letters and other communication cannot be dropped off at this address. All must be mailed through the US Postal Service or one of the other mail delivery services such as FedEx, DHL, UPS, etc. Do not send rent payments in cash.
Your security deposit of $$$$ has been forwarded to us.
I'm sure you can appreciate that we also have financial responsibilities that must be met. Therefore, although you will notice that your rent ($$$$ p/m) has not changed, a number of other conditions are changing effective November 1, 2004. In particular, the terms regarding rent payment deadlines, late charges, and returned checks, are all changing. All these changes are clearly explained in the Rental Agreement.
As regards cleanliness, we expect that apartments, public areas, and the territory around the buildings will be kept clean. To this end, please do not litter in the hallways and basements, as well as around the buildings. If the cleanliness of the property becomes a problem, we will be forced to hire a cleaning service, the cost of which will unfortunately be shared by all tenants. We would of course very much like to avoid that.
Also, we understand that the previous owners practiced a policy wherein they were responsible for putting out the trash every week. Unfortunately, this is a policy that will need to change. We will make certain that every apartment is provided with a large plastic garbage can. They may be kept on the left side of (Insert address). Every tenant will then be responsible for disposing of his or her own trash. In order to avoid problems with pests, please make certain that the lid of your trashcan is tightly closed at all times.
Additionally, in the interest of fire and personal safety, public areas should be kept clear of personal possessions. Personal items in the basement should be stored in your storage unit. Please contact us if you have any items that cannot fit into your basement storage unit. Otherwise, anything left in public areas and not previously discussed with us will be considered unclaimed and will be disposed of.
We are very careful in selecting our tenants, and hope that all of them would choose live in a clean and safe environment. We would therefore like to ask that you notify us if you observe anyone littering on the property or otherwise creating an inhospitable environment.
Finally, it's a little early to bring up moving out, but please be aware that we have a list of items that should be cleaned before we conduct a move-out inspection. If at some point you decide to move, please ask for a copy of our Move-Out Letter, explaining our procedures for inspection and returning your deposit.
Please let us know if you have any questions. We hope you continue enjoying living in this building.
Something I've used
Dear Tenant,
We want to welcome you to the SWFLA Investments family! We strive to exceed your expectations so that you are happy in your home. Some information that you will need as a tenant are as follows:
Rent is due the 1st of every month in the form of a money order or cashier’s check made out to SWFLA Investments and sent to this address:
SWFLA Investments
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Naples, FL 34116
Late fees are accessed on the 5th of the month.
If you have any problems, you can call XXX_XXX-XXXX. We want your feedback, if there are problems, don’t hesitate to call us.
Thank you and Have a Great Day!
Thanks very much to you both. These are very very helpful. I really appreciate it.
It would help if the former property manager also sent each tenant a letter telling them that the building will be under new management effective <date>.
The letter should also tell tenants that their current leases will be honored and to forward all future rent checks to the new property manager in accordance with the instructions they will receive from the new company.
reneeshultz,
Why are you waiting until after you own the property to meet the tenants ??? I like to find out any suprises before the closing myself. godd luck.
I have met the tenants but still wanted a welcome letter for after I actually own it.
You should be hiring a management Co. to handle all that stuff, and focus your time on buying more investments.
As of now I enjoy doing all of these things. When it gets to be too much for me, then I will hire a managemnet company.
I think it's good for those that can hack property mgmt at least for a little bit. You will better be able to evaluate the effectiveness of a mgmt company down the road
I think it's good for those that can hack property mgmt at least for a little bit. You will better be able to evaluate the effectiveness of a mgmt company down the road
This post has generated many good responses and even a manageable debate.
I just wanted to give you my 2 cents....
I like to give a small gift with that initial letter. A gift card to Home Depot is my usual. I present the gift with the idea that we are in this property together and want to keep in clean, maintained and liveable. This helps us all get off on the right foot and pays for itself many times over.
Alexlev's letter made me feel uncomfortable like... were here now and we're going to use you folks to pay our mortgage. I know that's what happens but to up the rent first thing? I like the idea of meeting the folks and a little gift is real nice
NG
i don't believe you will get many takers on your autopay with only a 5 buck discount..........km
Niceguy1
There was no rent increase in my letter. In fact the letter made a point of clarifying there there is no increase with the change in ownership. When properties are sold, the first thing most tenants get nervous about are possible rent increases. My goal was to address that concern directly.
I met all the tenants before th purchase was completed.
As for the tone of the letter, I could certainly see how it might not appeal to everyone. But my view is that this is a business, not a charity. If I set a firm but fair tone right from the start, then there won't be any misunderstandings or hurt feelings. I provide apartments of a particular quality, and I expect to be compensated in a timely manner for the use of these apartments. I'm not in this to make friends with my tenants. I'd much rather be friends with the investors on this board.
I like the letter that he wrote, although I may not put everything in there thathe wrote but 95% of the letter I do like and I do agree that we aren't out here to make freinds and it is a business. I guess I probably won't do the rent increase with the 5.00 discount. Just thought that might be a little incentive to using autopay. I guess I could increase the rent 20.00 and give them a 20.00 incentive to use autopay but that isn't going to be very appealing either to the tenants. Thanks for all the advice.
This is a little off topic but related
I have leases in place where it states they get a $25 discount if they pay before the 1st of the month. Not one person has ever used it, it cracks me up