How Tenant Goodwill Enhances Property Management

You know the phrase happy wife, happy life?  Well, we couldn’t think of something snappy like that, but the same concept rings true for landlords and tenants.  Keep your tenants happy and your experience as a landlord will be much easier and enjoyable.

This podcast episode is all about concepts and things you can do to enhance your tenants experience while living in your rental property.

We discuss communication, maintenance, gifts, upgrades, offering amenities, and technology.

You’d be amazed at what implementing just a few of these concepts can do to boost the landlord tenant relationship!

LINKS:

👉 Heatwave email: This is the email we send to our tenants at the beginning of the summer to supply them with tips on handling hot weather and heat waves.

👉 Hemlane a software that is built to grow with your needs as a landlord. 

For a minimal amount, there's a really good basic package but what we love is the option to upgrade and add 24/7 maintenance management on.  

It gets better!  If you reach a place where you are ready to hand off management to a property manager, Hemlane has that too under their “Complete” option.

👉 TurboTenant: A great option for landlords.  Perfect for those with just a few doors or for those who may be new to using rental property software.  

👉 DoorLoop has easy rent collection, top tier organization and support, and scalable portfolio growth.

Connect with Us:

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👆Click HERE for our FREE Landlord Forms and Doc’s

🤳Text Us: 650-489-4447. We love questions and love letters!

📩Email us at: Stacie@YourLandlordResource.com, Kevin@YourLandlordResource.com

✔️Course Waitlist: From Marketing to Move In, Place Your Ideal Tenant

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Transcript

Stacie: 0:00

And the last thing I want to say about this is, maintaining a healthy and good relationship isn't easy. It demands effort, consistency, and goodwill on both sides. The landlord always sets the tone for a respectful relationship with their tenants. And there are various tricks and strategies to finding common ground.

0:25

Welcome to your Landlord Resource Podcast. Many moons ago, when I started as a landlord, I was as green as it gets. I may have had my real estate license, but I lacked confidence and the hands on experience needed when it came to dealing with tenants, leases, maintenance, and bookkeeping. After many failed attempts, fast forward to today, Kevin and I have doubled our doors and created an organized, professionally operated rental property business. Want to go from overwhelmed to confident? If you're an ambitious landlord or maybe one in the making, join us as we provide strategies and teach actionable steps to help you reach your goals and the lifestyle you desire. All while building a streamlined and profitable rental property business. This is your Landlord Resource Podcast.

Stacie: 1:14

Hello there, landlords. Thanks so much for listening to the Your Landlord Resource Podcast. My name is Stacie, and I'm here with my right arm, Kevin. And today we are discussing things that you can do to create goodwill with your tenants. Now we've said it before, but we're going to repeat it. When you own rental properties and earn income from rents, you are operating a business. Business owners usually will do what they can to keep their clients happy so that they'll return and continue purchasing from them. And landlords, your tenants are your clients. It's important to do what you can to make them feel welcome and like you care about their living experience in your unit.

Kevin: 1:58

And we do realize that there are differences between being a landlord with a single family home and being landlords of multi family properties. So, as we talk today, we'll do our best to distinguish if a tip is more focused on a single family or a multifamily property.

Stacie: 2:16

Yeah, but regardless of the size of the rental property you own, there is a mindset that goes along with it. There should also be an appreciation and gratitude that someone chose to live in your unit.

Kevin: 2:28

So many times we hear of rental property owners who get someone in their unit and then they don't return until there's a maintenance issue or the tenant moves out. This set it and forget it method is not doing you any favors. Yeah. Well, these are also the same landlords who complain about how horrible their tenant is. You have to remember you have control over who you place in your units and if you don't like them after the fact, nine times out of ten, the responsibility falls on you. Not always, but often the signs were there if you had done a thorough background check. However, that is not the subject of our podcast this week. We would like to talk about the ways to keep your tenant happy and hopefully living in your rental and paying rent for many years to come.

Stacie: 3:17

Yep. Exactly. So we understand that many of our listeners only own single family home rentals and goodwill for those size rentals is a little bit different than those who own multifamily properties. And we say that because for single family homes, oftentimes the tenant is in charge of some maintenance items. Plus, and even more importantly, tenants of single family homes tend to stay longer, much longer because moving is more of a hassle, especially if they have kids. But there certainly are many ways to help your tenants feel cared about and special regardless of the kind of rental you own. The winning formula to delivering an exceptional living experience lies not in the grand act of here's my rental, I'm allowing you to live in, but the ongoing repetitive acts of attentive care throughout the life cycle of a tenant. In the overwhelming age of technology, residents still crave the basics of human interaction. So let's start with communication. Excellent customer service begins when the prospect calls or steps foot on your property for a tour. Remember, they're making a significant financial commitment, so handle everyone with a sense of urgency, patience, and in depth knowledge about your property. Right up front, this is when they're going to decide if they want to give you their hard earned money, regardless of whether they like the unit or not. So start the relationship off on the right foot from the beginning. And I hate that I have to say this, but absolutely do not use any impolite words, or discriminatory behavior. And for the love of God, answer the phone or call them back in a short amount of time. And texting is great because you have a written record of the conversation in case it goes south. But keep in mind, that written record goes both ways in a court of law.

Kevin: 5:11

Yeah, tenants express frustration from rental property owners that don't respond to calls or emails. It's also important not to have restrictive office hours. When someone contacts you about a maintenance issue, provide a timeline for resolving it. You may not always have an immediate fix to a service request, but if you communicate to let them know that you're on it and when they can expect you or your handyman or maintenance tech to show up, that's huge. If there is a delay, make sure you explain that as well. Ambiguities and confusions create grounds for complications and communication errors. You know as well as I do that sometimes it takes a while to get the parts or maybe if it's in the middle of a heat wave and you need to wait in line to get your AC tech out there. As long as they know you're doing all you can to resolve the issue and communicating information as you find out, it will nip any resentment in the bud. It's also crucial to be up front about your expectations and regard your engagement with tenants as a relationship. And while we're on the subject of maintenance, if you use a handyman, contractor, or certain specialized techs to do work at your units, make sure they are polite and understand discrimination laws too. If you send someone to your property and they cuss or joke about a nationality of a neighbor or come on to a tenant, you can get yourself in trouble. Whoever you hire to work on or at your properties is just as responsible for this tenant goodwill as you are. We strongly advise our tenants to maintain open communication. We let them know that we want to know about something if it's not working right. There's a leak or they're having issues with one of our techs or even a neighbor. Basically anything that we might have some control over to make their experience living in our unit more enjoyable. Now, don't get me wrong. We are not suggesting if they call and ask for something unrealistic like putting in a pool or building a porch with a roof on it so they can have a shaded area, that you even consider it. We're talking more about windows that don't open, slow draining sinks or tubs, doors that don't lock, and of course maintenance issues like a refrigerator or stove not working or any water leaks. Let me ask you this, do you have a habit or a procedure of checking in with your tenants regularly? And when I say regularly, I don't mean every week, but maybe every other month or so. Send a quick email to check in and see if they have any questions or if they're in need of any repairs. Maybe doing this when you're letting them know of any scheduled maintenance or inspections. Or if you're entering winter or summer and you need to remind them of duties to be completed to prepare for the season. Now, each summer, we send tips to our tenants on how to handle hot weather. Even though they have air conditioning, this does not mean they are familiar with how to use it in an efficient way. We are happy to share the email we send out and we'll link that in the show notes.

Stacie: 8:23

Yeah, communicating frequently will help you identify problems and solve them before they turn into an expensive or potentially damaging hazard. So communication also means scheduling your visits to the property in advance. You need to respect your tenant's privacy. There is no reason at all to stop by unannounced and some states even prohibit it, forcing a landlord to give ample notice. So make sure you're aware of your landlord tenant laws and how they apply to you. Give them a minimum of 24 hours notice so they can be prepared mentally and physically, meaning they might want to tidy up a little before you go in. These inspections or preventative maintenance visits will help you manage your investment better and build credibility with your tenants. Inspections can help you find such things as plumbing leaks. And if your tenants are footing the bill for the water, they're going to appreciate you remedying that situation and saving them some money. This simple act makes you more reliable and puts a tenant's mind at ease knowing that you have their back. So communication is a big part of customer service. And customer service is the heart of all businesses ability to succeed. As we mentioned before, your tenants are your customers and it's up to you to show them good customer service by taking care of their needs, their comfort and security. When you show your tenants respect, there's a psychological effect where they likely will reciprocate. Small insignificant gestures of kindness, goodwill, and respect go a long way and treating your tenants with respect and dignity will earn you their loyalty. If you show an interest in their wellbeing, the hope is that they're going to respect your property, protect it, and let you know when issues arise so you can resolve them. If you treat them like you could care less or that they're not important to you, you can bet they're not going to be mindful of caring for your property. And the last thing I want to say about this is. Maintaining a healthy and good relationship isn't easy. It demands effort, consistency, and goodwill on both sides. The landlord always sets the tone for a respectful relationship with their tenants. And there are various tricks and strategies to finding common ground.

Kevin: 10:44

Right. And remember, it's their home too. As a landlord, it's sometimes hard to remember that your property is the home of another individual or family. You may be the property owner, but as per the rental agreement, it's your tenant's home. We all harbor sentimental ties and love for our homes, and you mustn't undermine the tenant's relationship with your property. For us landlords, the property is an investment, a vehicle to generate a passive income stream. However, for tenants, the property is much more. It's a home that offers them serenity, security, comfort, and warmth. It's crucial to be respectful and mindful of the tenant's residence in the property. Adding value to the relationship is the best way to generate goodwill. So this can be like we said earlier, by checking in from time to time or by sending a note to let them know you're thinking of them during a difficult time, like if they're sick or they've experienced a loss. If you know there is going to be work done in the neighborhood by Public Works where the water might be shut off or they will need access to the yard, make sure you give the tenant ample notice. Do not assume they know this information, it's possible they don't. It can also be by offering upgrades with a renewal, like giving them a new appliance, recarpeting a bedroom, or adding new energy efficient lighting. For some properties sprucing up front yard to boost curb appeal so the tenant feels happy to come home to the property can be very appreciated. And this is not so much an issue with multifamily properties. But with single family homes, you might want to be mindful if the tenant pays the water bill. Maybe plant drought resistant plants so they don't need a lot of watering. Pay for a landscaper so the tenant doesn't have to deal with mowing and blowing. If you're concerned about the cost, work it into the rental rate. Stay on top of maintenance like servicing the HVAC, especially all air conditioning units each spring. Last year when we did this we found we had a thermostat that was not working for cooling and that a condenser needed to be replaced in another air conditioner. Had we waited until the tenants called to complain about no A. C. when the first heat wave came on, we would have been screwed. I mean, no AC guy can service these promptly in the middle of a heat wave. You'll absolutely be waiting at least a couple weeks. Now, how do you think your tenant would feel about living in a hundred degree temps for days on end when they didn't have to? When we found the issues and advised the tenants as to what had to be resolved, they were very relieved that we had the foresight to address the maintenance earlier than after the fact. Boom. Right there, we created goodwill. They know that we are on top of taking care of the property and for the most part they can depend on us to ensure their living experience is a good one.

Stacie: 13:43

So other ways to treat your tenants right is by not raising their rent above market prices. We tend to keep ours just below market and remain competitive, which lowers a desire for tenants to want to move out with each rental increase. Once they get to know how well we operate, they will stay even with annual increases. Other ways to help create better relationships is by using technology to make their experience easier. So these days, many, if not most tenants prefer to use electronic devices to pay rent and communicate. So property management software like TurboTenant, Hemlane, and DoorLoop all offer one stop shops for your tenants. They have their own portal to be able to process maintenance communication, put in requests for a guest or pets, and they can set up their bank account to be able to pay their rent online each month. Tenants appreciate the streamlined process because it saves them time. Using any of these softwares or apps also saves you time by ensuring their needs are always met. One more thing to consider would be to employ the services of an after hours call center. This is great because tenants know if there's an emergency in the middle of the night, they can get a hold of someone. We often have our mobile phones off or set to only allow calls from certain people after 10 or 11 o'clock at night, and that's all the way until 6 a. m. So if a tenant called in the middle of the night, we're not going to get it. We could, however, allow the phone number for the after hours line and say there is a fire or a flood or some sort of emergency where the tenant needs to get a hold of us right away. They could call the service and the service would be able to get in touch with us.

Kevin: 15:27

You know, Hemline Property management software offers 24/7 maintenance calls on their software. You have to pay a little bit more per unit, but if you truly do not want to deal with maintenance calls, you can upgrade your account to include it. Its pretty cool. We'll link them as well as TurboTenant and DoorLoop in the show notes. Some other things we do to start the landlord tenant relationship off on the right foot is to leave a welcome gift when they move in. I mean, it's not bad, it's about 15 bucks. We usually include a roll of paper towels, toilet paper, a couple of bottled waters in the fridge for them to share with whomever helps them move in, and some simple snacks like protein bars, trail mix, or chips. We also include products that we want them to have and use in the unit, like a blue sponge. Okay, it may sound silly, but we have had tenants use the green abrasive sponge on the stainless steel appliances and it scratches them They have even used them on the wood cabinets and it takes the finish right off. So, now we include the sponge with a note explaining we prefer they use this type of sponge and why. We also include a 3M claw, which is a small hook for hanging pictures up. I mean, they're really easy to use and they leave the smallest of holes, so patching afterwards is a breeze. The last thing we leave is a touch up cup, which is like a small protein shaker bottle that keeps extra paint handy for the tenants in the unit. We include a small disposable paintbrush, rubber banded to it so they can touch up nicks and dings as they happen. This does what? It keeps the unit looking nice and fresh for them to enjoy. Which in turn keeps them happy living there. You see, we do what we can to set our tenants up for success. Are we perfect? Hell no. We have a lot of things we could be doing differently, but right now it works and we have pretty happy tenants who stay in our units until they have like a life changing event that forces them to vacate.

Stacie: 17:36

So you guys, small tokens of appreciation like that welcome gift go a really long way. We also send a greeting card with a small gift card to each tenant every holiday season. And this is something that is encouraged by the IRS. They allow you to deduct$25 in gifts per tenant per year. So consider if you have a deli or a coffee shop nearby that you can get them a gift card from. I mean, geez, even an Amazon gift card or a grocery store gift card is super appreciated.

Kevin: 18:06

We gave our tenants this year, was it Target gift cards, right?

Stacie: 18:10

Yeah. And they were thrilled and really appreciative. And, it's funny because many tenants have expressed this, they've never had a landlord do something so nice like that before. So, other ideas to make the experience better for your tenants is to provide amenities for them. Maybe have high speed internet access or storage units at an additional fee. If you allow pets maybe a covered dog run for Fido would help keep the dog out of the house unsupervised when the tenants are gone. Keep it affordable and worth their while, but the more you can offer and the less they have to deal with, the better. The last thing we want to say is for our multifamily owners. If you have a common space where you can put patio furniture or a barbecue out there, do it. A few years ago, we started with a small outdoor patio set with nice cushions. And then I think about a year later, we added a dining table with chairs. And soon thereafter, we added a barbecue, it's an electric one. We finished the space by adding string lights for nighttime ambience. And I'm telling you, the tenants use it all the time. We've had neighbors come up to us and tell us that they've been over there for wine tasting. And one guy who loves to grill invited all the other tenants to join him for gatherings after work and on weekends. And this act created a sense of community for our tenants. It gave them outdoor space to enjoy day or night and and in all it cost us about a thousand bucks over a couple years. We've provided covers for the furniture so it stays nice and clean and the tenants are great about thinning up and keeping the space nice. And heck we've even used the space to have meetings with our contractor when we didn't have a vacant unit to meet in. So, we hope you've been able to see that tenant satisfaction is a win win situation. For tenants, the small amount of attention that you give means a better living situation and trust in you as their landlord. For landlords, it means less turnover, which results in more stable income and reduced turnover and vacancy costs. Satisfied tenants are more likely to pay their rent on time, adhere to the lease terms and keep the property in good condition. So let me review really quickly. Communication is key and a very important aspect to bettering the landlord tenant relationship. Send emails with updates, text and check in, and give ample notice when you need to visit the property. Do semi annual inspections to check the property and stay up on preventative maintenance. Spruce up your property with plants, offer upgrades with each renewal, and provide amenities for them to enjoy their home more. If you do not already, use property management software to help tenants keep up on their rent payments and communicate with you. And lastly, consider welcome or holiday gifts to help your tenants feel special and appreciated. I mean, when my dry cleaner gave me a lint roller this last holiday season, so silly, but I was so excited and it cost them like two or three bucks and you know what? I felt like they wanted me to be happy and they did. All right. So that is our episode for today. I hope you were able to get something out of it. Thank you so much for taking the time out of your day to listen to what we have to say. Our goal is to help all landlords by giving tips and advice that can help you run your rental property business efficiently and professionally. If you love what you hear, would you do us a huge favor and leave us a kind review so that we can continue to reach other rental property owners? We really need other listeners to know how our podcast has helped you and what you love about listening to us each week. You can find a link in the show notes for your review. And while you're at it, would you also follow or subscribe on your favorite podcast platform because your downloads each week allow us to grow and reach other rental property investors. And last, we would love to connect with you. We have a great newsletter with all kinds of tips and articles for rental property owners that you can sign up for. It's free, so you've got nothing to lose. And if you find it's not for you, you can unsubscribe at any time. We will link it in the show notes along with links to our private Facebook group and social media sites. And until next time, you've got this landlords.