I recently had a prospect caller ask me "what does Property for Lease" mean?
My signs are printed with my company colors and because I offer ONLY fixed term leases, I elected to have PROPERTY for LEASE on my signs.
Many "ready made" signs have riders with FOR RENT or FOR LEASE which are being used interchangeably which may be sending the WRONG message to prospects.
Typically, property FOR LEASE is for a longer, fixed term - 1 year or longer. The caller who saw my sign on a rural property with a large house surrounding by fencing and paddocks wanted to know if just the LAND was for lease which often happens with country property and acreage.
Multi-units offered for shorter terms or on a month to month basis are posted with FOR RENT signs connoting that the length of rental term will be shorter than one offered on a lease.
Additionally, a rental agreement can be as short as one page and a lease agreement as long as 80 when used for a commercial property.
By using the correct term when discussing the properties we are representing, we can more correctly convey our desires and condition for the "letting" of the property.
Wallace S. Gibson, CPM * GIBSON MANAGEMENT GROUP, Ltd.
Central Virginia
LandlordWhisperer
View our available Charlottesville, Albemarle and Lake Monticello rental homes online with photos and floor plans
"...to be a Virginian, either by Birth, Marriage, Adoption, or even on one's Mother's side, is an Introduction to any State in the Union, a Passport to any Foreign Country, and a Benediction from the Almighty God...." Anonymous
Wallace - English is such a fun language with so many 'interchangable' words. We have been working on the ranking for our website. I had always used the term 'Home for Lease' in Little Rock feeling that it better described our offerings. However, I discovered that most of our tenants actually search for 'House for Rent' in Little Rock rather than 'Home for Lease'. So we now incorporate both. It has certainly helped our ranking however probably adds to the confusion of the general public regarding the differences in leasing vs renting.
Betty - good point and being clear and being ranked may not be mutually beneficial to being clear about what you are actually offering. Our market is almost all fixed term leases so I have not run into the ranking problem, just the misconception about the lease type.
Wallace - Thank you for the clarification. By the way I love your avatar. I have seen several foxes who would have been brazen enough to do that.
Pam - thank you....I found it by complete accident and living in Keswick, it seemed appropriate! I like your photo and if I could be my Springer Spaniels to sit still long enough I would have tried that....
There are very few month to month tenancies any more. Most all landlords want a one year lease or at a minimum 6 months. For single family homes a very short term is too costly for the landlord to do the deal.
Bob * I agree; however, tenant applicants do not seem to know the difference which is confusing when first talking to them.
I have owner/clients who are moving to Florida where property managers are telling them not to come look for a rental house until June for July because they only get 30 days notice from tenants.
In our market for rent and for lease are used interchangeably. I don't see the point in wasting my time trying to change that.
Leslie - it not about changing the use; it's about acknowledging that there are differences and knowing how they fit into our individual markets. Thanks for your post.