Quick question...Do any of you do anything above and beyond for your tenants?

[Tina C.]

For instance, we give a gift card at Christmas as a Thank-You for being great tenants.  When I have a new tenant move in I like to make sure they have the local phone book, recycling/garbage schedule and other local info (restaurants and such) I also like to get a small plant to welcome them.

We have some long term tenants that really take great care of our properties and we like to say thanks to them, I was told by a senior that lives in a unit that the gift card I gave her at Christmas fed her for a week! It wasn't much but she doesn't go out much and this allowed her some prepared meals and leftovers.

Just curious to see what other landlords do.

Have a great day!

[Marcus Curtis]

Everything with me is by the books. My view is if you do anything "above-and-beyond" for one resident you must do the same for all. A simple letter thanking them for their continued tenancy around the Holidays is a simple and inexpensive gesture but only if you are doing it for all.

The one thing I started doing two years ago is stocking the fridge with bottled water, the freezer with two pizzas, a custom pizza cutter with my contact information on it and a roll of paper towels. For units with dishwashers, I provide a small bucket of dishwasher detergent pods with a warning not to use regular dish soap in the machines. You would be surprised by how many times residents were unaware that dish soap was not for the dishwasher. I do this for everyone.

The key I think is to do it routinely for everyone no matter the circumstances. One of the worst accusations that a Landlord can receive is that they are playing favorites. It is a discrimination case just waiting to happen.