Rental extension pursuasion

[Lucas Krysl]

I have a tenant coming off a lease and am trying to get him to sign a six month extension.  He is resisting because he is building a house that is supposed to be done in December. He wants to continue to rent only month to month.  I live in Nebraska and have had to try to fill vacancies during this time and it takes till April to fill them.  My only thought at this time is continue to try and persuade him to sign it or start raising the rent considerably.  Any other ideas??  He has been a great tenant otherwise and I really don't want to pick a fight.

[Robert LaPrelle]

I think that there is a lot of value to ending things on a good note. He will work harder to keep you happy when he moves out if you can keep things positive. I am particularly fond of the something along the lines of "Well, you know that by moving out in December, you're putting me in a position where I'm going to be losing money for a few months. What do you think would be a fair deal?"