Do I pay my tenant or is that a terrible idea?

[Cory Lucas]

I have a great tenant to this point, I’m curious if I should reimburse her for work done? I told her I’d be power washing and painting the back deck this spring. She said she’d do the power washing cause she loves doing it and she’d be happy to paint the deck. I’m curious if I should reimburse her as those are items that while I could have taken care of at no charge to me I feel she should be compensated for her labor. Also worth mentioning the paint I had for the deck went bad that I had given to her, so she bought a new gallon and isn’t worried about reimbursement on that.

I feel it’s the right thing to do and would also further help with retaining a good tenant. I was thinking $75?

She keeps up with the place and makes sure to let me know of any issue before it becomes a bigger problem and is very reliable for communications and hardly ever asks for or bothers me with things

[David Murphy]

As someone who has lived as a tenant for most of my life due to being brought up internationally, proof that the landlord cares about your work is very important. I would recommend offering to pay for the materials but not the labor, you don't want them thinking that they work for you but that they work with you. Other than that, the occasional gift such as a bottle of wine or cookies to thank them for being a great tenant is always appreciated. Most tenants want a good connection with their landlord and if you give them that then you are more likely to look at a long term tenant who may even end up buying the property from you if they get attached. Good luck.