Owning rental property is one of the best ways to build wealth but one of the biggest mistakes that many owners make is looking at their tenants as a number instead of a human being who they should make feel at home in their rental.

If you’ve been searching for ideas on how to welcome your tenants to their new rental property, this article will provide you with several tips that you can use to make them feel welcome and at home.

Create A Basic Welcome Home Kit for Your Tenant

After handing your tenant the keys to their new rental property, you should hand them a basic welcome home kit that includes the following:

Emergency contact information – This list should also include who they need to contact for maintenance and repairs just so they won’t call you in the middle of the night if they need help.

A short list of stores in the area – Very useful for new tenants to have, especially if they just relocated to the PDX area and don’t know Portland. The list should include stores like Walmart because most shoppers like to shop in stores that they know.

Area Parking information – If your rental property is a multi-family unit, this list should include their space number and instructions for parking. You parking information should also include where tenants should park on the street too.

Rent – Most important of all, this information should include how you want to be paid and when rent is actually due.

Include A Gift card – Spend $25 and include a gift card to Walmart or another store like Big Lots. Gift cards can go the extra mile when it comes to stretching budgets and helping tenants buy the things that they need when they first move in.

Enhance Your Welcome Kit

Want to take your welcome kit to the next level? Try adding these additional items:

Laundry Supplies – Add laundry supplies including detergent, dryer sheets or laundry money if they don’t have a washer and dryer.

Bathroom Supplies – Include bathroom supplies like a shower curtain, toilet paper or baby wipes if they have children.

Cleaning Supplies – Add cleaning supplies for the home like over the counter spray cleaners and paper towels.

Taking the time to show your tenant that you care about them will literally go the extra mile at starting your relationship with your tenant off right and motivate them to renew their lease in one year when it comes up for renewal.

You may want to also consider including the following:

Free Items

• A personalized, handwritten notewelcoming your new tenant to the property and neighborhood.
• A mapto the closest grocery store, laundromat, and hospital.
• Couponsto local restaurants and retailers.  A lot of towns send out direct mail coupon packs for free.  Try contacting the provider directly to see if you can keep a stash of them to give out to new tenants.  You could also establish a relationship with your favorite restaurants to see if they will create a custom coupon just for you and your new tenants.  In my experience with the food industry, most restaurants (maybe not super expensive ones) will be on board with this idea, as they want to get a new customer in the door and make them regulars.

$5-$10 Items

• A small bouquet of flowers, usually under $5 from a grocery store, in a dollar store vase left on the counter with your handwritten note.  What a great way to welcome new tenants and make them feel at home.
• Toilet paper, for that first night
• Cleaning Kit: a small bucket of sponges, glass cleaner, bleach, paper towels.  You can find all these items at the $1 store and don’t need to break the bank.  I love this idea because it sets the tone for wanting to keep your rental clean.
• Bottle water or soda pop in the fridge
• Gift cardto a local coffee shop

$15-$25 Items

• Gift cardto a grocery store

• A gift certificateto a local restaurant

• A bottle of wine or champagne-moving into a new place is a celebration after all!

• Gift card to a home improvement storeor the local hardware store, they will most likely use it to make improvements to the property

Get Portland Oregon Property Management Here

Do you need property management for your rental properties? Contact Property Management Systems by calling us at (503) 515-3170 or click here to connect with us online.