1 year lease vs m2m

[Kira Voden]

I have a tenant in Waterford, WI who said they are very interested in resigning another lease but are wondering if I would allow m2m instead of another 1 year lease. They’re great tenants and I want to be flexible. Other than possible winter move out are there any other downsides of m2m? Can I protect myself from winter move out on m2m? 

[Paul Novak]

Kira, for what it’s worth we only do month to month leases right from the get go. This separates us from other landlords, allows flexibility for our tenants, and allows flexibility for us if the tenants aren’t a good fit. On the flip side we write in our leases that we will lock in the rent price for a minimum of 2 years from the date of lease signing. This shows a sign of good faith on our part that we are serious about getting long term tenants. We have no guarantees that our tenants will not move out in the winter but I can tell you we have taken this approach for years and it’s worked great. We rarely turnover tenants.