When it comes to leases, there are a lot of questions we get asked. What is the best time frame for a lease? Should I have a month-to-month lease or go for the long haul? How long should my lease be?
A lot of landlords think that short-term leases are the way to go.
After all, if you're a landlord and you're renting out a property for 12 months or more, then you're going to have to deal with all kinds of issues—like whether or not the tenant will be able to pay rent for longer than one year. But what about when you're looking at a shorter lease?
A lot of people think that a six-month lease is just fine. After all, most people move every six months or so anyway, so why not get them in and out as quickly as possible? And if they don't like it, they'll move on anyway!
We've seen some cases where people use leases that are only three months long for their rental properties. While this sometimes works, we don't recommend it as a general rule. The reason for this is simple: a shorter lease means less security for you and your renters.
Well… there are actually a lot of reasons why we don't recommend shorter than 12 months for your lease. For one thing, it can make it harder for you to find tenants who want to stay longer than six months. If they know they will be moving out soon anyway, why would they want to sign up for something longer? They might not even bother applying!
Ideal Lease Duration
The reason we prefer 12-month leases is that they help protect both parties: the landlord and the tenant. When a landlord rents their property for 18 months instead of 12 months, they take on more risk. They don't know if their tenant will stay beyond those first 12 months—and even if they do stay more than one year, there's no way for landlords to predict whether or not that tenant will stay for another year after that!
While this might sound like an issue only for landlords, it actually affects tenants, too: when there's no end date in sight, it can be hard for them to make plans about their future without feeling anxious about whether or not they'll still have a place when they need it.
A shorter lease means that more tenants are coming and going, which is more work for you as the landlord. It also means that it will be harder to build relationships with them and get them to take care of your property well.
As an experienced property management company, we can help ensure that this doesn't happen to you by finding tenants who will pay their rent on time, every time. We'll also take care of all aspects of running the property for you—from repairs and maintenance to finding qualified tenants and screening them thoroughly—so that your rental properties are always fully occupied and profitable! Contact us now!
