Should I Sell Or Rent
In this current real estate market many home owners and home sellers are choosing to rent their homes out instead of selling them. Homeowner’s whose homes have decreased in value, would rather wait until the market improves before selling and risk losing their current equity. The idea of having a tenant pay the mortgage until the market rebounds sounds like an ideal solution. Right? Well, for some it is, but for others this may be a nightmare. Which will it be for you?
Here are some questions to consider before making the decision to rent your home or sell:
- Are you prepared to be a landlord?
- If a pipe breaks or the furnace goes out, will you be prepared to deal with repairing the problem immediately?
- Will you be renting the property yourself or hire a Property Management Company to help you? Property management companies on average charge 10% of the monthly rent.
- What will you ask for rent?
- Is it the standard rent for the area and the home amenities?
- Will the rent pay your mortgage, investment property insurance and other expenses that will occur with tenant/landlord relationships?
- Can you afford to pay your mortgage if the tenant does not pay the rent?
- Will the property be maintained and kept up to your standards?
- Are you versed in landlord/tenant laws?
After answering these questions, and you decide that renting the home is not the right choice for you, re-evaluate your timing to sell the home. In theory renting out the home sounds like the perfect solution. But if waiting to sell in the future could cause greater financial loss than selling now, then, what would you do?