Holiday’s are approaching which means wrapping up end-of-year inspections and financial reports. It’s also the perfect time to work on resident retention with these gratitude tips while creating a stress free property management environment with mindfulness techniques.
Why Practice Gratitude
There is scientific evidence that beyond having a positive disposition, the practice of showing gratitude has a positive effect on one’s well being both physically and emotionally. From building self-esteem to stress reduction to overall satisfaction with life, expressing gratitude is good for your mental and physical health.
The receiver of your gratitude also gets a boost both mentally and physically. Everyone wants to be recognized, to feel important, have someone care.
Lifting others elevates everyone
As a landlord, showing a spirit of gratitude can also increase your bottom line in terms of improving your tenant turnover rate.
Resident Retention
Take a moment and ponder the impact your residents make on your business and in your life. Set aside any difficult interactions and the day-to-day busy landlord stressors and concentrate a few moments on the people behind the rent payments. Residents bring purpose to your day, they provide the capital to continue in your chosen occupation, they produce your income.
Appreciation for what they bring to your life can be shown in an outpouring of gratitude which may cycle back as increased resident retention.
Show Gratitude by Recognition
Thank You Cards
To help with resident retention, put it in writing. Recognition can be as simple as a hand-written thank you card. Remember to be genuine and specific. For example,
Dear Jones Family,
What wonderful tenants you’ve been these last three years. We are so grateful your family has continued renting from us. Your tidiness and timely rent payments have not gone unnoticed. We hope you continue to love your rental so please feel free to contact us at your convenience if you have any concerns or thoughts on improvements. Wishing you and your family a fantastic Thanksgiving. Warm Regards!
-Or-
Dear Sam,
I can’t believe how quickly these last 12 months have flown by and I wanted to send you a quick note to thank you for being a great tenant. It hasn’t gone unnoticed that your yearly inspection showed how well you’ve maintained the home. We are grateful to know the home is in good hands. Your thoughts are important to us so please reach out if you have any suggestions for improvements. Thanks again!
There are many reasons to show your gratitude towards your residents such as:
- Paying rent on-time
- Tidiness
- Maintaining the home in good condition
- Calling attention to a needed repair quickly
- Participation in a community action group such as Neighborhood Watch
- Participation in community events
- A lack of complaints is a great cause for celebration and gratitude
- Move-in milestones such as yearly, 3 years, 5 years, etc
- And if for no other reason, for choosing your property to rent
The holiday season is a great time to write these notes but it can be done anytime throughout the year. Send a thank you when a tenant has complied with a request, after an inspection, to celebrate a birthday, or randomly ‘just because’.
Social Media
Connecting on social media such as Facebook is a great way to show gratitude and recognition. Create a page or group if you manage a multi-unit property, HOA community, apartment complex, or mobile home park. From there, celebrate your residents’ achievements, birthdays, community events, share recipes, create photo contests, like and share residents’ posts, etc.
This can also be achieved if you manage single-family dwellings by creating a property management focused page or group and invite all your tenants to join. They might not live in the same community, but they do have you as a common denominator. A social page is a wonderful place to come together as an online community as well as a platform for showing gratitude and communicating important information.
Rewards
Some appreciate words but others respond well to receiving tokens of appreciation. It doesn’t have to cost much to reward good behavior to see a return on investment (ROI) in terms of improved resident retention. Consider gifting the following:
- Move-in incentive
- Welcome basket
- On-time rental discount
- Lease renewal discount, bonus, or gift
- Referral bonus or gift
- Gift cards (groceries, dining out, home improvement, decor shops)
- Seasonal gift basket
- Movie night (movie tickets, popcorn, candy)
- Home improvement (batteries, simple tools, command strips)
- Disaster preparedness (first aid kits, cooling towels for summer heat, flashlight)
Coupling small gifts with a hand-drafted letter or card can create an even more powerful impact.
Community Events
You can show your gratitude in a larger gesture by creating awesome community events. Garden parties, summer BBQs, a holiday gala, even a community cleanup day can express gratitude and improve resident retention rates.
Community events could even include a yard maintenance contest, catch someone being helpful drawing, participation awards, or a points program.
Showing Gratitude Towards Others
Showing your gratitude doesn’t have to stop at improving resident retention. You have other opportunities to shower your gratitude towards employees, vendors and contractors, and property owners. Just as residents like to be recognized and remembered, so do the other partners in your business.
You can put in writing by sending a card, drafting an email, taking time to post a positive online review or social shout out. Besides, gifts of gratitude are often appreciated.
- Gift cards
- Small gifts such as a plant or useful tool
- Branded swag (stuff we all get) such as hats, totes, mugs
- Helpful or interesting books
- Movie or event tickets
- Unexpected paid time off
Stress Free Property Management
Property management is tricky and can become a very stressful occupation without proper tools. Just as gratitude has physical and mental benefits so does mindfulness and they often go hand-in-hand.
Mindfulness is the practice of being both in the moment and outside as an observer. It’s the ability to set aside an immediate reaction and make a decision at the moment from a place of proactive intention versus reactive tendencies.
This relates to gratitude in that and cares of the day, the frustrations of individual interactions, the stress of the industry can overtake the mind. In that state, a perspective of gratitude and appreciation is often clouded. Mindfulness allows room to change your state and act with intention.
Benefits of Mindfulness In Real Estate
Mindfulness has many other benefits to consider beyond making room for gratitude such as reduced stress, improved focus and memory, and confidence. Taking on mindfulness helps landlords to bring clarity to your day and gives you time and space to prioritize your schedule. The ability to slow down and be in the moment can also help with anxiety and in-turn reduce burnout.
How to be a Mindful Landlord
When people hear the word mindfulness what often comes to mind is meditation. Mindful meditation simply means to be aware of your thoughts and feelings, accept the situation as-is, and give space and thought to how to respond to the situation.
- Schedule time for introspection, planning, goal settings and prioritizing.
- Add short slow walks into your day to reflect and relax.
- Stop all work and take breathing breaks. Breath intentionally and slowly. In moments of stress, anxiety, or conflict, stop and breathe even more slowly.
- Decide to be proactive or active versus reactive to personalities or situations.
- Move with intention from a place of gratitude. Find reasons to appreciate the moment and more importantly, the people in your sphere of influence.
The practice of mindfulness in real estate while expressing your gratitude should translate to greater wellbeing for you and higher resident retention adding to property management profits. Not to mention, the best legacies are crafted with intention.
