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Today is Thanksgiving in Canada, and while everyone is taking the time to show their appreciation for friends, family and loved ones it is also important for to take a moment to show appreciation for the amazing tenants who make your investments possible.
Good tenants take care of your investments while paying their rent on time and keeping you updated on any sudden concerns that need to be addressed with the property. This takes a large amount of the stress and pressure of managing real estate investments off of you and your property manager/management team. So, it in exchange you may want to consider rewarding that behaviour to show your tenants you appreciate how they are helping you.
Much like you need to demonstrate your tenant appreciation, we want to show you our appreciation by offering you a free strategy call to help you get your investments properly financed and cash flowing.
All you need to do is click the link below to book your call today.
Why Is It Important To Show Tenant Appreciation
Tenant appreciation is incredibly important for a few key reasons. Through appreciating your tenants and making your tenant appreciation known, you can avoid vacancies, find new tenants faster and encourage tenants to keep up their positive behaviours.
For example, while an unappreciated tenant – or one that feels unappreciated – may not care about giving you notice when they move out or paying rent on time consistently, a tenant who feels valued may decide they do not need to move – thus avoiding a vacancy – or might feel obligated to provide you with notice of their departure out of respect.
As well, when you do have a vacancy to fill, a tenant who feels properly appreciated may try to refer people they know who are looking for a place to rent to you, thus helping you fill the vacancy faster.
Tenant Appreciation Methods
There are plenty of ways for you to show your tenant appreciation to your renters. So, in order to help you find the method that works best for you, here are five methods that you can apply in a pinch to improve your relationship with your tenants.
Tell Your Tenants How Much You Appreciate Them
The first and easiest way to make your tenants know that you appreciate them is to simply tell them. Not only can hearing you say that you appreciate them as tenants help make them feel good and reward their good behaviour, but it can also help to ensure your tenants understand that the line of communication is open if they ever need to address anything with you.
This can be done by visiting them in person, giving them a phone call, sending a card or a letter, or by inviting them out to dinner. Just make sure that whatever you do it feels personal. Impersonal messages of tenant appreciation often feel even more hollow than not receiving one at all.
Keep Track of Birthdays and Anniversaries
Another excellent way to show your tenant appreciation to you tenants is by keeping track of their birthdays, anniversaries, or other important dates. Then, on these important days you can send a message or a small gift to your tenants in order to celebrate the day with them. This demonstrates that you acknowledge them as people with their own lives and personal events.
Whenever possible, try to avoid having maintenance or home repair impede with these days and aim to have any work that needs to be done completed before those days roll around. This way your tenant can property celebrate those dates without worrying about their home being messy from construction or renovations or dealing with inspectors walking through their plans. This simple consideration allows your tenants to feel like you are not intruding on their personal lives or creating an obstacle for them with your property maintenance.
Give Small Gifts Around Major Holidays
Holidays can be an expensive time, so if you are looking for a way to show your tenants kindness and appreciation during these times, small gifts can go a long way. Most notably, giving your tenants gift cards for local grocery stores or big box retailers is a popular option since your tenants will likely need to visit these places already in order to prepare Thanksgiving dinner, Christmas dinner, etc.
You can also take this a step farther and aim to acknowledge specifically the holidays your tenant celebrates. Is you tenant Jewish? Bring them something for Hanukkah. Are they Muslim? Bring them something for the end of Ramadan to celebrate Eid al Fitr. This way your tenants feel like you are acknowledging them as an individual instead of simply bulk purchasing gift cards.
Make Improvements to The Property
Another great way to show your tenant appreciation and prove you care about them is to make improvements to the property that will also improve their quality of life. This can be installing or updating the heating and cooling system, replacing an old fridge with a new one, or repainting old-faded walls in their unit to make the place feel new again.
Consider Rent Discounts/Incentives
Another option that some investors choose to consider for tenant appreciation is the option to offer rent discounts or incentives to benefit tenants who consistently pay their rent on time. This can be as little as discounting rent by $50 one month as a reward for good behaviour or offering a discount on rent for tenants who pay in advance.
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Remember: Choose the Tenant Appreciation Method That is Best for You
While many of these options are great, what is most important is that your methods of showing appreciation are personal and well intentioned. Do not feel pressured to offer gifts that your budget does not permit in order to satisfy a tenant and make them feel appreciated.
Speaking of appreciation, at LendCity we have a variety of things we do in order to make each of our clients feel appreciated. So, if you would like to experience what we have to offer, give us a call today and we will get to work together. Our number is 519-960-0370 or you can find us online at LendCity.ca. Alternatively, you can click the link below to book a free strategy call with us.