How much to tip landlord? (NYC only)

Just wondering what other PE/finance guys are tipping their landlord this year.  It's been a tough year for everyone with the continued ripples of COVID, high real estate vacancies, etc. so want to make sure I'm not off-market.  Luckily I just got my year-end bonus ($250k) so feeling generous.  Was thinking $100 for each doorman (so $400 total), then 20% of one-month's rent to the landlord (so 20% of my one bedroom's rent would be 20% * $5,600 = ~$1,100).  Does that sound fair to you guys?  Don't want to look like a cheapskate vs. their other tenants so just curious what "market" is

Comments (37)

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  • Associate 3 in PE - LBOs
1y 

To be clear, tipping your building's service personnel is very standard… I've never once heard of anyone tipping their landlord. I'm paying $5k a month and new rents are above pre-pandemic, unless you're living in a Midtown office the landlord's doing fine. 
 

$100 per doorman is pretty standard, maybe more like $50 for people who aren't in finance or similar fields, maybe more like $150-$250 if you get a good bonus or they did a lot for you this year.
 

A lot of people give a little less or more depending on role (maybe $50 to the cleaning crews, $100 to the doormen and porters, $150 to lead doorman, $200 to super, etc.), but I'm less keen on that… it's the holidays, no need for a hierarchy, just a nice tip across the board and a little bonus for anyone who went above and beyond

1y 
NoEquityResearch, what's your opinion? Comment below:

I tipped the sellside MD $20 bucks on our last deal and told him he should come by and apply for an internship some time. Hope he does. Sharp kid. Best of luck to him in the New Year.

  • 1
1y 
theATL, what's your opinion? Comment below:

I've never tipped my landlord, but have always tipped doormen, maintenance, etc. I'm not sure why you would tip a landlord, the only service they provide is renting out your place and they are getting paid a reasonable wage (not really a "service" job). Think about renting from a private owner, if I rent you my condo and you are paying me rent, you'll also tip me? Seems off, save it for the inevitable rent hike. $100 is pretty standard for doormen, etc, especially in a larger building where there are many units and lots of staff. I once lived in a place with ~25 staff total so I would end up ~$3k. 

I'm in a smaller building now (and own so don't have the landlord thing) and know my super pretty well (he's very attentive, I've had him watch my apt while I'm gone, etc) so I tip him $1.5-2k a year. 

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  • 3
1y 
Whatever1984, what's your opinion? Comment below:

Not a cent. You tip down not up. Has a door guy been particularly helpful? Double what you're giving them first.

The only difference between Asset Management and Investment Research is assets. I generally see somebody I know on TV on Bloomberg/CNBC etc. once or twice a week. This sounds cool, until I remind myself that I see somebody I know on ESPN five days a week.
  • 3
1y 
Incoming cfa level 1 charterholder, what's your opinion? Comment below:

You never tip your landlord. If you want to tip anyone tip your super only if they did some sort of extra work for you. In my current building, supers bill you for everything so I won't give them a single thing. When I lived in my previous rundown building and my super helped me install an oven, I gave him 30 for the work he did.

Controversial take but I won't tip anything. No one has done anything beyond their duties. I pay a lot to live in this building, and part of what I pay goes towards their salaries. Take that money and spend it on yourself/loved ones. Our industry is tough and you need to spoil yourself to avoid burnout.

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  • 3
1y 
eloquence, what's your opinion? Comment below:

Definitely no landlord tip. Maybe if you were renting the upstairs of someone's house in Suburbia, USA and wanted to curry some favor, but no one in the city tips their landlord. The residential market's been ripping since May, your man is doing fine.

$100 is standard for doorman. Maybe up that a bit if they have gone above and beyond for you given what you'll save on your anticipated LL tip.

Array

1y 
fattailed, what's your opinion? Comment below:

Did a landlord write this post

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  • 28
1y 
TheBoyPlunger, what's your opinion? Comment below:

Don't tip your landlord, that's dumb. I'm personally tipping $25 to all 13 staff in my apartment, including super, concierge, and maintenance. Totals to $325 which is reasonable without breaking the bank. 

1y 
Nut_Eater, what's your opinion? Comment below:

I am from Europe and I need to say that you guys from America are crazy when it comes down to giving tips to service employees 😂 The fact alone that you are even thinking about tipping your landlord is horrendous enough...

10mo 
mama_we_made_it, what's your opinion? Comment below:

typical European. you'd be speaking German or Russian if not for us.

1y 
Whatever1984, what's your opinion? Comment below:
recoveringcpa

Market landlord tip in NYC is 25%

So the CRE team is making that?  I'm tempted to demand some of that for myself since they're on my floor now.  I'll just flex the extra zeros even if we're just collecting 20 bps.

The only difference between Asset Management and Investment Research is assets. I generally see somebody I know on TV on Bloomberg/CNBC etc. once or twice a week. This sounds cool, until I remind myself that I see somebody I know on ESPN five days a week.
1y 
Lifestyle123, what's your opinion? Comment below:

Just don't think about it too much and tip equal to the concessions that the landlord gave to you, at the time a complete stranger, out of the kindness of his heart. That and a nice Christmas card is standard.

1y 
Blue9, what's your opinion? Comment below:

Tipping culture is possibly the strangest thing about America. If you guys are happy with it, then more power to you, but it does not make one iota of sense to much of the rest of the world.

Tipping your landlord? You're paying him thousands in rent every month. You want to tip him to say thank you for the privilege of paying for an overpriced condo?

1y 
Pierogi Equities, what's your opinion? Comment below:

Gonna start asking our tenants to tip us now

Quant (ˈkwänt) n: An expert, someone who knows more and more about less and less until they know everything about nothing.

1y 
EnergyIBK, what's your opinion? Comment below:

Only if there's anything left over after I tip my MDs.

  • 6
1y 
SanityCheck, what's your opinion? Comment below:

On that note, anyone have an idea on how much to tip my credit card company?

Chase has been going through some hard times and Jamie Dimon seems pretty sad panda so am feeling a bit generous. Was thinking 20% of annual spend but not sure if that sounds fair to you guys. Don't want to look like a cheapskate vs. their other CC customers like Bob who I'm pretty sure has a slightly higher credit score than me.

1y 
The Pharma Guy, what's your opinion? Comment below:

Yeah, a bit ridiculous to tip your landlord. If you've had a great relationship over the course of your tenancy (e.g., potential COVID-19 rent reduction, communicated directly in a friendly way, always helped sort out issues such as plumbing in a timely manner) the best thing to do is to write a very polite email at the end of your tenancy and MAYBE add a small gift like a bottle of wine. But again, only if they've been exceptional.

1mo 
Smoke Frog, what's your opinion? Comment below:

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8d 
Pathaan, what's your opinion? Comment below:

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