I start tenants out on a one-year lease, which converts to a month to month rental agreement (with a 60 day notice). This flexibility sometimes makes it easy for tenants to passively stay on for longer than they may have if they had to commit to an entire year at a time. It makes it easier for me to raise the rent, too (I just need to give them 60 days notice).
However, knowing that I have them on for another full year has some value, too. So, although my current tenants’ lease is set to expire a month from now (which means that they’re month to month now, as they haven’t given me notice), I decided to talk to them about signing on for another year. I told them that I do generally raise the rent a small amount each year, to keep up with property taxes and cost of living increases, but that I would give them an opportunity to lock in their current rate for a year if they signed a new lease. At first they were unsure of giving up their flexibility… but ultimately the dollar won.
I have another year in which (barring any extraordinary circumstances) I can enjoy keeping that “for rent” sign gleefully buried away in the basement…
Related Articles:
- Refunding the security deposits. Mostly.
- Moving in (Or, when their U-HAUL breaks down in your driveway)
- The twenty-four hour maintenance marathon
- The All-Important Lease
- Checking References
- Tenant Screening (Don't get too excited just yet.)
- Apartment showings--six in one day!
- Advertisting (and the traffic counter miracle of 2006)
- My ad is up, I'm getting inquiries. I never realized that there were so many, er, interesting people in the world.
- Moving out notification (How my life changed when I opened my door this morning)