not really, but I thought it would be a catchy title.


I got this in the mail today:






What should I do? I'm planning on sending them a card of thanks and stuff, but what kind of gift is appropriate when your landlord says "here, We're giving you $500 for the h*** of it"


I was taken by surprise, I've never met the owners of the house before, only the property manager.

The house we are renting is probably worth in the range of $200,000 or so, and the rent cost is only 700, which is extremely low for a house in this town. Most apartments are around $600-$800 so its odd how the rent is so cheap to begin with.

I wish my mortgage company would send me a card like that

Hmmmm congrat Hans...that'* great!

I don't think a gift is necessarry, as they were just interested in doing good. I think that a thank you card as you were planning would be sufficient. Perhaps maybe remember them at Christmastime next year with at small gift.

exactly what it says... congrats on taking care of there house!!!!! landlords love good renters that take care of their property.... and will do stuff like that every now and then..... the 235$ is prob all his mortgage payment is...

Wow i wish my Credit Cards would do that

What a nice landlord you have Hans. Mine went up on me in January by $50, which now brings the total rent to $1400/Month

2 BR 2 Bath
Heat and hot water included
little over 1000 Sq Ft.

What a very intelligent landlord.

My wife and I own rental properties, too. We ALSO do nice things like that for our tenants at the holidays. Not to that extreme, but we have incentives built in for them...

1.) If they stay in the home and keep it in good condition, they build a bank of funds in the amount of $25-50 per year. That money, when used collectively could go to an improvement to the home at my expense (carpet, paint, bushes, etc.).

2.) At Christmas, at minimum, they get a small gift as a token of our appreciation.

3.) If they refer a friend or family member to one of our properties, and that new tenant stays for one year, the referring tenant gets one free month of rent.

These programs work very well. It gives the tenants pride in "ownership" and gives me a sigh of relief because they're truley taking care of the property.

Be thankful that you have such a reasonable landlord. He'* simply treating you the way he'd want to be treated.

I don't know about in MA, but around here you could buy a place for that much a month. No money down, either. My mortgage payments come to just over a grand a month for 2 bedroom, one bath

Yeah, New England area is expensive, like the west coast. You defiantly get more bang for your buck anywhere else. Especially in the country! My mortgage for 3BR 1Bath on 7 acres is just over $900/mo (not including taxes). Of course there are trade-offs, I have to drive 12 miles to get to a town with 3,500 people and 25 miles to get to a city of 40,000.

Hans, that is nice of your landlord! I think they do appreciate someone who keeps the place nice. I lived in a duplex for a while, the landlord was having trouble renting out the other half so he had to lower the rent to get a tenant in there. He lowered ours to match! Twice! It was sweet! He could have easily not told us what they were paying.