Leasing vs. Buying Christmas Lights
The question isn't the first year. It's who owns the failures, the storage, and year three.
From the team behind Lucente Detailing, 125+ five-star Google reviews. Insured. Same-day reply, fixed within 48–72 hours.
There are two ways to get professional Christmas lights on a house. You can buy the lights and pay someone to hang them each year, or you can lease the lights from the installer, who owns them, services them, stores them, and comes back with them next year. Both are common in Northeast Ohio. Here's how they differ in practice.
| Buy and hire an installer | Lease from Chagrin Valley Lights | |
|---|---|---|
| Who owns the lights | You do. They age one season at a time in your garage. | We do. Custom-cut to your roofline and stored in our unit. |
| A strand fails in December | You call for a repair; parts and a visit are usually billed. | Text a photo. Fixed within 48–72 hours at no charge. |
| Storage | Yours: bins, labels, a corner of the garage. | Ours: labeled with your address, climate-controlled. |
| Year two | Install labor again, plus replacements for what failed. | The price written into the agreement, stepped down on a 3- or 5-season term. |
| Changing the design | New strands to buy. | Change it any time before install; additions are quoted and mocked up first. |
| Moving | The lights come with you; they may not fit the new roofline. | We take them down and transfer the agreement if the new home is in our area. |
| Ending it | Nothing to end; you own a box of lights. | Thirty days' notice before the next install date. No fee. |
Captured from public sources on 2026-09-18. If any entry is out of date, email chagrinvalleyholidaylights@gmail.com and we'll correct it.
What We Put in Writing
Eight things that are in the agreement, not just on the website.
$1,000 Season Minimum
Every home is quoted individually, and no home is quoted under $1,000 a season. You know the floor before we come out.
Every Season's Price, Written In
The per-season price steps down on a 3- or 5-season term, and the number for every season of your term is on page one of the agreement. Nothing to renegotiate in year two.
A Two-Hour Install Window, Texted the Night Before
You don't need to be home. We need the front of the house and one outdoor outlet.
A Same-Day Reply to a Texted Photo
Text a photo of what you see. You hear back the same day, from Levi, not a form.
Fixed Within 48–72 Hours
Anything that's our fault is fixed at no charge for as long as the lights are up, within 48–72 hours, weather permitting.
Thirty Days' Notice Ends It. No Fee.
Before your next install date, one text ends the agreement. We text before any renewal charge.
A Photo of Your House Lit, the Night of Install
So you see it the way your street sees it, even if you're not home.
Labeled, Climate-Controlled Storage
Your set is tagged with your address and stored in our unit, not a garage. Nothing ends up in yours.
Read all eight and how we keep them · Lease terms in plain English
Questions
When does buying make more sense?
If you want to hang them yourself in later years, or if you already own commercial-grade C9s on custom cord and just need labor. We don't install customer-owned lights, because we can't stand behind them.
Is a lease more expensive over five years?
Compare the written five-season total against five installs plus the replacements you'd buy along the way. Ask any installer for both numbers in writing; ours is on the quote.
Can I do just one season?
Our shortest term is two seasons. If you need to end it after the first, thirty days' notice before the next install date ends it with no fee.
Ready to See Your House Lit?
Book a free site walk. You'll get a mockup of your own home and a quote for the season, with no pressure to decide on the spot.
Installing October through December 10. Install dates go in the order deposits come in.