Many tenants balk at signing a lease renewal, even though they plan to stay in the house. They would much prefer, obviously, to simply stay on a “month-to-month” basis, giving them more freedom to leave on their own schedule. Clearly, this isn't in your best interest as a property owner.
So, how can you force a tenant to make a decision to sign a new lease? Simple: raise the rent! All of our leases have an automatic lease increase clause that automatically increases the rent by 15% if the tenant doesn't sign a new lease and instead goes month-to-month. This way, the tenant has a significant incentive to sign a lease renewal and lock them in for another year. If they don't, then you still benefit as an owner by getting a big rent premium to compensate you for the added risk of having a month-to-month tenant in the property.
Give us a call if you'd like to get us to manage your property. Our years of experience managing hundreds of properties will ensure that you have the best possible management for your investment.
