How are you guys incentivizing your renters? Are you at all?

[Anthony Drew Gary]

Hello BP Nation!

I've taught Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University through my church and I thought maybe it's worthwhile to offer to send my renting families through the class?  If they latch on to Dave's principles, there's decent likelihood that they will remain renting for a while, and the class is only $100.

I've heard of free carpet cleaning for renewing a lease, and I've heard of reimbursing ACH payment fees for on-time payments, but I'm curious if there are other ways to keep great tenants using creative ideas?

Cheers,

Anthony

[Russell Brazil]

I actually don't mind tenant turnover too much. I'm bad at raising the rent, so when i do have a tenant leave I use it as an opportunity to jack up the rent.

[Justin Fox]

Honestly, I think being a great landlord is the best way to keep great tenants.  Taking care of repairs quickly, keeping up on maintenance and leaving them alone otherwise.

The Dave Ramsey thing may come across as insulting.  People who truly want to get their finances straight will seek out the resources to do so.

[Michael Boyer]

I concur with some ideas here already. There are probably tons of free toaster type incentives, but most tenants are pretty savvy, and if they have a responsive landlord, a well kept unit, and at or slightly under market rents, this often does more for tenant retention and renewals than any add ons or freebies. For on time payments, ideally you take care of this with screening (and they don't need much encouragement to fulfill the terms of the lease) but I use more of a stick (late fee etc) than carrot approach there...Best of luck.

[Nathan Miller]

It's pretty common for landlords to pay the ACH costs for automated payments, and cheap too considering it's only about 50c on average.  Discounts on first month's rent is also highly common.

[Samantha Klein]

I like to send Christmas gift cards around Christmas, but as stated above, if you're a responsive landlord who fixes things quickly and considers their concerns, that will help you the most. I have wonderful tenants right now that have told me I'm the best landlord they've ever had just because I've been quick to fix things and I'm respectful and considerate.

[JD Martin]

My experience: the best tenants usually end up being people who have their **** together, so to speak, and people like that are usually on to bigger and better things, which means they're not going to be your tenants forever. I've hired a lot of employees and it's the same phenomenon - the best employees are going to have ethics, morals, self-motivation, intellectual curiousity, etc - and those same qualities eventually lead them to seek out greater challenges. 

To that end, I offer great units with good amenities at somewhat below market rates, fix problems as they come up in a timely manner, and keep rent increases as low as possible, and I don't bother the tenants. That's my incentive for people to stay. 

[JJ Conway]

I have facilitated FPU for years and am also a Dave Ramsey financial coach listed on his website so I **LOVE** the FPU materials and used to gift them frequently. Guess what I found out? Most people got offended. Even though they really needed it! If they are ready for it, they will seek it out on their own. If they're not ready for it, hopefully you'll have some good screening in place to figure that out before you rent to them (smile).

Having moved around a lot for work, I'm both a landlord AND a frequent tenant! From the tenant side definitely the things mentioned above: take good care of the place, fix things without a whole lot of name calling and blaming (one landlord did this every. Single. Time. And then would eventually say, "yeah the last tenant had a problem with that too" as she was fixing it - ugh). Minimize the nuisance rent increases (everyone says a landlord is leaving money on the table when they do this but all it does is leave a poor taste in tenants mouth). I don’t generally offer incentives but I've heard people who do things like "pick your upgrade" (ceiling fan, carpet replace, etc) on anniversary date. One thing that my tenants have liked is when something like a faucet needs to be replaced I'll let them pick it out if they've been there awhile.

[Jennifer Griffin]

I would report their payment history to the credit bureaus. Good tenants will thank you for raising their credit score!

[John Thedford]

I take care of repairs immediately. I always thank them for timely payments. I do go inspect but always ask them how everything is and ask if there is anything I need to take care of for them. Send them a gift card at Christmas, always treat them with respect, and let them know you appreciate them. They show their appreciation by taking care of the property and paying on time. I am a little under market rents and only raise their rent small amounts at renewal. Besides that, they don't want to be bothered with me:)

[Anthony Drew Gary]

@Jennifer Griffin is there a good how-to on how to report payment history to the credit bureaus?  This is a great idea, but I'm unsure how to properly report.  Thanks for your tip!

[Mike Dymski]

Respond to maintenance requests quickly.

Maintain the property well.

Treat residents with respect.

Properly screen tenants in the same complex to create a community of like-minded residents.

Respectfully enforce lease terms regarding on time rent so their is clarity and consistency among residents.

Respond to items that impact the overall look of the exterior of the property (broken blinds, sheets or signs in windows, storage on front porches).

Properly maintain landscaping in communities.

Provide automation for applications, lease signing, renters insurance and lease payments.

Deal aggressively with unlawful and non compliant residents to provide a safe community.

Understand and price rents at market levels.

If you are raising rents, offer to clean carpet (if needed) or add/replace a fixture...get creative to add value.  In the end, finding and keeping good residents is about the stuff above...providing a safe, affordable and well kept home or community.

[Jennifer Griffin]

@Anthony Drew Gary

Send payment history into Datalinx, we will put it into the Metro 2 required format and send it to the bureaus to load onto the tenants credit report.

[Anthony Drew Gary]

Thanks, @Jennifer Griffin  Please PM me the cost implications on my end for this service?

[Valerie Post]

Hi @JJ Conway~

Amazing--I am a huge Dave Ramsey fan as well as a Robert Kiyosaki fan and am curious how you balance the two and how the financial coaching program works. I was considering that when I discovered "Rich Dad Poor Dad" and am poised to begin investing in rental real estate. Are you able to advise people to invest in passive income or are most people you come across just needing help with the basics? And what was your biggest hurdle becoming a financial coach? I am intrigued!

Best regards~

Valerie

[JJ Conway]

@Valerie Post You may have meant to tag someone else. I don't balance the two approaches. I follow a debt-free lifestyle and teach others how to do the same. Including their investing and business building. Congratulations on getting your start in real estate investing -  the market is a bit tough right now, but they are projecting many, many great deals in the net couple of years

[Valerie Post]

@JJ Conway No, I meant to tag you! :-) Dave Ramsey has a debt-free mindset and Robert Kiyosaki is all about leveraging debt. 

[JJ Conway]

Quote from @Valerie Post:

@JJ Conway No, I meant to tag you! :-) Dave Ramsey has a debt-free mindset and Robert Kiyosaki is all about leveraging debt. 

 OOps sorry, I didn't see this til now. I love Robert Kiyosaki's Cashflow Quadrant book and the Cashflow-4-kids game, but that's as far as I go with him because, as you say, he's big on leveraging debt. I recommend my clients avoid debt unless they have substantial enough holdings that they can immediately pay off whatever they're trying to leverage "because the math works."

The math always works, but people don't live by math. Which is why they come to me 100s of dollars in debt and ready to aggressively work my plan to be financially independent in 7-12 years.

[Valerie Post]

A long delay on my end, but I applaud your approach! Such a rarity to hear this from someone in your line of work. You obviously have your clients' best interests at heart!

[Jared Prevost]

I think a focus on humanizing the relationship between tenant and landlord is a great place to start. You really want the tenant to view you as on their side - the last thing you want is for them to think of you as a necessary evil.

To build a positive relationship, you need to focus on excellent customer service which includes: providing a great experience, being responsive and clear in your communication, and occasionally doing things to show you care. This might include an occasional gift basket, flowers for the front porch, giving the property a nice amenity update, etc.

That being said, you can have a great experience with your tenants without going over the top. While going the extra mile for your tenants can be a great way to encourage the tenant to take good care of the home, screening is far more important. A hoarder won't change behavior just because they got a fruit basket when they moved in. Also, paying extra attention to tenants can be tedious and isn't going to help you generate any new business.