Holding on to good tenants.

[GoGirl]

Christmas is upon us so I am focussing on keeping my good tenants as Xmas is not the best time to be trying to fill a vacancy. I am losing a tenant on the 9th of Dec and a replacement is yet to be found.

The tenant I am losing was great. he was retired and spent his free time improving my property inside and out, sticking windows, mailbox roof....and he kept the lawns etc immaculate.
When he and his wife moved in they found a small gift basket to welcome them with tea, coffee and chocolate biscuits. it didn't cost me much but it looked attractive and came with a pleasant note from their landlord.
I promptly provided them with a washing line too when they requested it. In return they have been perfect tenants.( I did this through my Property Manager)

I have done the same with my other properties and they all take good care of them for me.
For Xmas I will post them each a Xmas card and a small bag of Macadamia nuts attractively presented ( from my Macadamia nut tree)
Wishing them a merry Xmas and thanking them for taking good care of the property.

i will be sending cards to all the people who I do business with as well thanking them for their service eg my valuer, broker,Property Manager etc. It may seem small but being recognised in even a small way can make someones day and result in them thinking well of you.

Does anyone else subscribe to my prevention is better than cure approach?

[Marcus]

Sure do.
Apart form the box of chocolates (a little something that can be shared out) and Xmas card each year, I also now run an incentive scheme. This entitles the tenants to a $100 voucher to my favourite Italian restaurant should they complete a year’s tenancy with out receiving a 10-day notice to remedy.

The later also has second not so appealing aspect to it where by if they receive three 10-day notices within a twelve-month period, they are served with a 90-day notice to vacate (I have never had to exercise this).

I started out giving alchohol (wine or beer) as tenants moved in, but I thought I may be giving the wrong impression so that ceased. Tis still a good idea but I will have to think about what to give to make the right impression up front (maybe some gardening gloves and cleaning products )

I also respect their rights (even if they don't know their rights) whilst keeping the relationship friendly but professional. I make no secrets about how I run things if things go bad.

Regards,
Marcus.

[Marcus]

ps. If I remember correctly, Glenn had a neat little gift package for tenants moving in. Please correct me if I'm worng Glenn.

Regards.

[Marc]

Hi GoGirl!

Great post! Yes we try very hard to look after our tenants. If we are quick enough we normally send them a Christmas gift. For example one of our tenants is a solo mum with 3 kids - we send her 4 open tickets to the movies. We also try to fix or improve certain parts of the property if requested by the tenant,

Best Regards

Marc

[GoGirl]

Hi Marcus

Hi Marcus, LOVE the gardening gloves and cleaning products idea! heh heh

The $100 voucher idea, is that for IPs in poor suburbs where most tenants are low income or do you use it for every tenancy? Also do you only use it for periodic tenancies or fixed as well?

I wonder how I could use the concept? Getting mine to pay is not a problem for me but getting them to stay longer than 6 months to a year is at the moment.

[Glenn]

I give my tenant a personalized calendar at Christmas. Sports themes always seem to be appreciated. Always handy for them to see when the rent is due.
I have found that generally tenants prefer to not get too friendly. I do have one or two exceptions but being business like in all of your dealings rather than expecting some sort of favors is the best safeguard.
Really it is all a matter of scale, one or two flats and you can be your own person. Have over a 100 and no tenant can expect to have some sort of relationship with their landlord.
As for bribery and giving gifts to the good performers... well I ask you. Actually there is a bit in the RTA about this in a vague sort of way. Have a look at the section on accelerrated rent. If you offer some incentive or reduction in rent for doing something like always paying the rent on time or mowing the lawn. It says if the tenant’s part of the deal is not met the discount still applies. Yeh unbelievable. This clause is very common all round the word in local RTA’s. Does one get angry or in fact show any sort of emotions. I try my best to be friendly but keep my distance. It sure is not very nice giving a good tenant 42 days notice if the owner is reoccupying or sold if you have crossed the line between a business relationship and friendship. I often find it very difficult to do my duty to the owner at the end of a tenancy if I cross that invisible line also. Giving gifts does this.

[RentMaster]

I too give presents to good tenants. I go down to the local supermarket and buy a selection of non-perishable groceries. Christmas cakes, softdrinks, chips etc. Who doesn't like that sort of stuff?

Considering the $000's they have given me during the year, a few dollars back if well worth it. One vacant week is a loss of about $270, so keeping good tenants is a good investment.

[Marcus]

Guess it wasn't you after all huh!

I see the passage you are referring to
32. (2) Any provision in a tenancy agreement to the effect that, if the tenant does not breach any term of the agreement or any of the provisions of this Act or of any other enactment, the rent shall or may be reduced or the tenant shall or may be granted or paid a rebate, refund, or other benefit, shall be construed as entitling the tenant to that reduction, rebate, refund, or other benefit in any event.

Thanks for pointing this out, as I was obviously unaware of this clause. Once again your experience proves to be beneficial.

I did however think to write an “out” into the letter.
Part of my incentive letter states:
"Company X Ltd" reserves the right to discontinue this incentive scheme at any stage should the Director see fit. Notice can delivered by hand or post.

Should this incentive scheme be exploited at any stage I guess I will have to pull the pin for everybody.

Would be a shame if this were to happen but I will keep it in place until such time.

Regards,
Marcus.

[Marcus]

Hi Go Girl,

The $100 voucher idea, is that for IPs in poor suburbs where most tenants are low income or do you use it for every tenancy?

Yes. I don't own properties in the lower income areas by choice.

Also do you only use it for periodic tenancies or fixed as well?

I only sign people up on 12mth fxd term tenancies. Should they need to break the contract during the term, I ask that they contact me as soon as possible stating that they intend to leave on "X" day. I then make arrangements so that vacancy time is minimised if not eliminated (I have not had a vacant week yet with a property that was ready to let....touch wood).
I also arrange with them that I will bring through only those applicants that have a good chance of securing the property.

Regards,
Marcus.

[cube]

I only sign people up on 12mth fxd term tenancies. Should they need to break the contract during the term, I ask that they contact me as soon as possible stating that they intend to leave on "X" day.

Probably a separate thread, but what is the advanage of doing this over a periodic tenancy?

Happy re-tenanting!

cube

[Glenn]

I do every type of tenancy fixed, periodic and short term fixed.
not enough people use a special provision in the RTA for short fixed term.
by this I mean fixed terms for say a month. You can do this quite legally. I occassionally do this as an incentive. If the buggers do not behave during the month you can tell them to leave and they can not do a thing about it. Great for people out of mental hospitals or between jail terms.
Now for normal people in normal fixed term leases, they occassionaly want to break the lease. This is fine. Just do a deal (not written in the original lease) Get them to pay for the cost of reletting. Say a weeks rent.
Much better than a letting fee that only the Governments favourite landagents can do.
Glenn

[muppet]

Hi Glenn

Excellent posting.
It's really good for us landlords to get the your PM combined with being a landlord side of things in regards to the types of tenancies that can be used.

Keep the comments and suggestions coming.

Regards

[LeanneS]

Back to the original thread about gifts etc.

I will definitely be giving my tenants Christmas cards and maybe a small gift - I think the important thing is to communicate *why* they are getting it. ie "thanks for a fantastic year as a tenant. I really appreciate the way you've looked after the place and made my job easier by paying on time. Best wishes for the new year ... " etc.

And to have a fairly objective checklist of what deserves one - I have a tenant who has burned a small section of carpet and her children have drawn on the wall but otherwise has been fine. I have another tenant who have rung me twice in a week to call out a plumber because (it turns out) they have been misusing the heating system. Partly my fault for not educating them (although it is the standard heating system in 85% of UK homes) but still has caused problems and cost money.

Cards and wine *definitely* to my plumber, electrician and boiler man, who do a growing amount of work for me and seem to have got into the habit of not charging me for anything less than half an hour. Three relationships I am very keen to nurture!

[Rat]

Great post GoGirl, I liked everyones ideas.

Pays not to take our bread n butter for granted doesn't it?

I will do something next christmas...maybe movie tickets?

getting out of the rat race

Rat