Britni M. Ricard, the CEO of Cota Skincare and the proprietor of an apartment building in New Orleans, gave her tenants a surprise for Christmas.
The entrepreneur declared that she had always wanted to give a month’s worth of rent as a holiday treat in a now-viral TikTok video, which has received over 2.6 million views and 44,000 likes.
According to The Mirror, Ricard told her tenants, “I want to thank you for being valuable tenants, and I do a lot of givebacks a lot. I do a lot of community service a lot. But I felt like if I was going to give back I wanted to give to people who give to me. And that is just the reality and that is why I brought you here today.”
“So no, you guys, I will not be giving you vouchers; instead, I wanted to gift y’all with a free month’s rent.”
At her statement, the tenants gasped in shock. Ricard also told them about her plans to host seminars on property ownership, implying that they might all be using their rent money to finance mortgages.
She said: “I want to set up a seminar for you guys for home ownership so people can just get educated on that, because if I’m being realistic, and this is just me being 100 percent transparent what y’all are paying in rent you could be paying a mortgage.”
She also posted the video on Instagram with the caption, “MERRY CHRISTMAS. Many of you know I am the owner of a 10-unit complex. While I’m always finding ways to give back, this particular time, I wanted to sow into the people who sow into me. So I decided to gift my tenants A FREE MONTH OF RENT. Yes, last month, I gathered them and surprised them with a free month of rent right before the holidays. NO RENT PAYMENT IN DECEMBER. Because I know just how hard things are around the holidays, plus with the way the economy has shifted. I’m also setting up a homeownership class to help get them the knowledge and resources they need to someday become homeowners. I am so grateful to God for blessing me with the ability to be able to give back. I know my brother would be so proud of the good work that has come out of me starting @cota_skin in his name.”
Her comments section was flooded with admiration and praise from fans and followers.