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Renting would be a great solution for someone who doesn't need to get their money out of their home. I, for example, HAVE to sell my home in OH in order to be able to buy a new home when I move to Charlotte. Without selling my home, I have no down payment for a new home. I'm sure there are a lot of home-sellers in this same boat. (Just because the house is empty doesn't mean that they've already been able to buy a new home somewhere else...)
Perhaps they have moved out of state.... another instance where I would not want to be holding onto a property in a different state, having to pay a property manager to manage the property for me, etc.
There are just too many factors/reasons why someone may NEED to sell the home rather than renting it out and waiting for the market to turn around. So, it's not exactly a "no brainer" as you put it, IMHO.
I ended up renting instead of selling.....and I agree, some money is better than none, but I don't think I'd ever do it again. It's a lease to own situation, the tenant seemed great, nice family, well put together, you would never think she'd live in the squalor that she turned my home into. Here's hoping she'll actually purchase the home next month like she's supposed to, since I can't imagine having to go clean it after she's moved out.
Sure, GOOD tenants are great, the problem is knowing someone will be a good tenant before they get in there. For many it's not a chance they're willing to take--or they think the minute they rent it out a great offer will come around and they'll be stuck with a rental contract.
here's my "dining room" when I made a surprise visit in Dec (after the neighbor called to say the cops had been there--and the rent was months late)
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_xuCjADlDSww/ST7NTb-8d2I/AAAAAAAAAbg/jZ1v2WAFlu4/s640/100_8231.JPG (broken link)
and my master bedroom
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_xuCjADlDSww/ST7NcOi1H3I/AAAAAAAAAcA/ssUk3bLHfXg/s512/100_8235.JPG (broken link)
and the damaged door to upstairs
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_xuCjADlDSww/ST7NnBJe1lI/AAAAAAAAAc0/Lk2598Jg9AI/s640/100_8241.JPG (broken link)
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_xuCjADlDSww/ST7N7MategI/AAAAAAAAAeM/ymTZw9GuU5A/s128/100_8252.JPG (broken link)
I just wonder why there are so many empty homes for sale when there are responsible tenants looking for homes to rent.
Why would you keep your house on the market empty when you could rent it to me and wait a year or two to try again?
I'm just sayin' . . . I got the cash . . . and you have an empty house . . . seems like a no brainer to me . . .
Some HOAs do not allow properties to be converted to rentals. Ours has that covenant, but has no provisions in there to stop someone from doing so This biggest A-hole in our neighborhood has threatened to rent his house out since he's had it on the market for almost 2 years and can't sell it. If he does, I'm moving a double wide onto my front yard.
Some HOAs do not allow properties to be converted to rentals. Ours has that covenant, but has no provisions in there to stop someone from doing so This biggest A-hole in our neighborhood has threatened to rent his house out since he's had it on the market for almost 2 years and can't sell it. If he does, I'm moving a double wide onto my front yard.
I'll help! I would like to buy a boat and need some place to park it. But it would be so much easier if I could just park it at your house?????
JOAN: Dear God . . . those photos made me wanna cry.
I will add my experience. We left on a contract job from August to July back in the 90s and engaged the services of our housekeeper as a house sitter. All she had to do was take care of the house and pay the utilities. Not only did she not pay for the utilities, she moved her two sons into our house, moved a tremendous amount of our furniture and personal belongings - from books to items on shelves, in closets and in kitchen - to our garage. We finally figured out what was going on when our neighbors started calling us about their suspicions that she had moved her sons in - and that she was not working as her car was sitting there all day. We called our utility companies and she had run up bills totaling about $1700 and had paid the equivalent of one month's bills (and our accounts had gone into collections) - she had been paying like $25 a month while running up more in costs.
We started trying to remove her from the premises at Thanksgiving but b/c of squatters laws in Kansas, and even tho she had no signed contract and was not even "renting" . . . it took us til February to get her out of our house!!!! This was with the Sheriff's assistance and it still took us that long. And we were stuck w/ all the utility bills, too, LOL. On top of it, they had unplugged the sump pump to connect one of the boys' ninendo boxes - and the basement flooded, wh/ meant we had to replace all the carpet.
So even if you have a house sitter (not a renter), things can go horribly wrong! I still can't believe this happened to us, as we had known this lady for seven years and she had taken care of our home beautifully for whole summers at a time when we would leave Kansas and stay in NC for the summer. She had always been meticulous, reliable, trustworthy and had treated our home w/ respect. I had talked to her landlord and he had nothing but glowing comments about her.
Leaving your house when you are away in another state - whether you are renting it out or not - is not always the ideal situation you think it would be. If it had not been for my very alert and caring neighbors . . . I shudder to think how this would have all ended.
JOAN: Dear God . . . those photos made me wanna cry.
I will add my experience. We left on a contract job from August to July back in the 90s and engaged the services of our housekeeper as a house sitter. All she had to do was take care of the house and pay the utilities. Not only did she not pay for the utilities, she moved her two sons into our house, moved a tremendous amount of our furniture and personal belongings - from books to items on shelves, in closets and in kitchen - to our garage. We finally figured out what was going on when our neighbors started calling us about their suspicions that she had moved her sons in - and that she was not working as her car was sitting there all day. We called our utility companies and she had run up bills totaling about $1700 and had paid the equivalent of one month's bills (and our accounts had gone into collections) - she had been paying like $25 a month while running up more in costs.
We started trying to remove her from the premises at Thanksgiving but b/c of squatters laws in Kansas, and even tho she had no signed contract and was not even "renting" . . . it took us til February to get her out of our house!!!! This was with the Sheriff's assistance and it still took us that long. And we were stuck w/ all the utility bills, too, LOL. On top of it, they had unplugged the sump pump to connect one of the boys' ninendo boxes - and the basement flooded, wh/ meant we had to replace all the carpet.
So even if you have a house sitter (not a renter), things can go horribly wrong! I still can't believe this happened to us, as we had known this lady for seven years and she had taken care of our home beautifully for whole summers at a time when we would leave Kansas and stay in NC for the summer. She had always been meticulous, reliable, trustworthy and had treated our home w/ respect. I had talked to her landlord and he had nothing but glowing comments about her.
Leaving your house when you are away in another state - whether you are renting it out or not - is not always the ideal situation you think it would be. If it had not been for my very alert and caring neighbors . . . I shudder to think how this would have all ended.
Joan... those pics were just awful!! How on earth did you handle such a situation, if I might ask?
Just another good reason not to rent just to get some money. See, it's not such a no-brainer after all. I'd go ballistic if I owned a nice house and a renter treated it like a garbage can.
Yep and if you have a couple of old rusty cars, bring them too.
Hee Hee. You are gonna be very popular in the neighborhood!!!
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This biggest A-hole in our neighborhood has threatened to rent his house out since he's had it on the market for almost 2 years and can't sell it. If he does, I'm moving a double wide onto my front yard.
