To Lease or not to Lease

[Walter Fabiszewski]

I’m a Florida licensed Realtor and have a few customers who are investors that are listing their properties for sale and cashing out while the market is hot. I noticed that all of these landlords have tenants that are month to month rather than on a lease. They sign a one year lease, but the landlords don’t seem to be renewing them for years on end. At first I thought that they were just trying to keep it flexible in case they decided to sell, but upon review of the leases, it’s seems like they are going 2-4 years month-to-month. What does everyone think about this? I’ve always required my tenants to sign and renew one year leases (sometimes it’s a rent increase, sometimes without). Now I’m wondering if I should forego the security of a lease and let these tenants go month-to-month. The rental market is very competitive here in Broward County so I’m not concerned with tenants leaving or a long vacancy (most of my rentals are under market value). If I decide to sell, I would only have to give the tenant 15 days notice to vacate.

[Nathan Gesner]

Quote from @Walter Fabiszewski:

I’m a Florida licensed Realtor and have a few customers who are investors that are listing their properties for sale and cashing out while the market is hot. I noticed that all of these landlords have tenants that are month to month rather than on a lease. They sign a one year lease, but the landlords don’t seem to be renewing them for years on end. At first I thought that they were just trying to keep it flexible in case they decided to sell, but upon review of the leases, it’s seems like they are going 2-4 years month-to-month. What does everyone think about this? I’ve always required my tenants to sign and renew one year leases (sometimes it’s a rent increase, sometimes without). Now I’m wondering if I should forego the security of a lease and let these tenants go month-to-month. The rental market is very competitive here in Broward County so I’m not concerned with tenants leaving or a long vacancy (most of my rentals are under market value). If I decide to sell, I would only have to give the tenant 15 days notice to vacate.

 Most of these Landlords probably allowed the lease to lapse into month-to-month because they're too lazy to renew. They probably haven't inspected the property since the Tenant moved in and they may not be good tenants. If you're listing the property for sale, keep the tenants on a monthly lease. That allows the new owner to put them under a new lease or terminate them.