Some say to keep business and personal completely separate. Others feel that practice is hogwash. I tend to lean towards keeping them separate except around Christmas time. If I've seen the property has been being taken care of I really enjoy giving a gift around the holidays. It's often sometimes as simple as a discount on rent for the month. Generally its reserved for longer term tenants.
Anyways, this is just a quick note to stimulate discussion rather than to go on and on about something to make a long blog post. ;) I would love to hear other property managers takes on the topic.
My feeling is that it generates long term good-will and therefore longer term tenants, which means less vacancies, which ultimately means better return on the property.
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The author is a founding member of Rentec Direct, an property managers, and a business owner. Rentec Direct provides property management software which includes ach for landlords, tenant screening, and online documentation and file storage.
