Winter lease expirations

My 480 unit property is located in the winter climate and we do not have any leases expiring from October thru February. I currently have an overload of leases expiring in September which is still a questionable time. I could go into the winter with too many vacants increasing vacancy. I would like to be proactive with these lease expirations now. Does anyone have suggestions on what to do or offer. I thought of offering a shorter lease term thru March 2014. I'd appreciate any input. Thanks.

A shorter lease term is exactly what you need! We offered "flexible" lease terms to all of our renewing residents...was a nice perk and thank you for their longevity! Based on the expiration schedule, we offered new residents the same thing when necessesary so that we could manage every month throughout the year.

We used to offer anything between 6 & 12 months at renewal, but then we had too many leases expiring some months, and not enough in other months. Now we pay more attention so we don't have more than 10% up for renewal each month.

I stopped expiring leases Oct. - Feb. I have too many lease expirations in October, so I offer everyone a 1.5 year lease at a slightly lower rate. I have also started expiring leases November 15th because I had a lot of people asking for apartments for a november move.

Who says they have to be 6 or 12 month leases. Offer 9 month leases, too.

I thank everyone for their suggestions. We already require 15-18 month leases with a winter move in. Any additional suggestions I would appreciate it.

Great idea. way to adapt and be creative.

sometimes I wish I could offer longer leases. The most we do is 12 months, but most of our residents choose the 6 month option.