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Old 05-11-2015, 12:50 PM
 
18 posts, read 23,569 times
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We currently live in New Territory (west side of 99) in Sugar land. We plan on moving to a bigger home very close by (Richmond) end of the year. I wanted to get some serious thoughts on whether to sell my current house or rent it out. The value of the home has gone up nicely in the past 2-3 years, i'm just not sure if renting it will make sense given the current economic situation in Houston. I look forward to your thoughts.

Thanks!
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Old 05-11-2015, 01:32 PM
 
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Inventory is almost nothing right now in Sugar Land. If you going to sell it, now would be the perfect time as you will get good price for it.

Renting, unless is a smaller house with lower tax rate, will not be a big money maker for you. I don't own any rental properties but was looking into one in Sugar Land but the numbers doesn't make much sense.

Last edited by ipuck; 05-11-2015 at 01:44 PM..
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Old 05-11-2015, 02:27 PM
 
174 posts, read 407,151 times
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I don't think renting is a good investment choice given the increased burden of property tax. Also for the age of your house, you have to consider the on-going maintenance cost as well. Tenants are a lot less care about your property e.g. turn on high AC without replacing air filters, hair clog in your plumbing, overflow dishwasher / damaged food disposer, etc. A single service call could easily cost you a couple of hundred dollars.

Last edited by Jonathz; 05-11-2015 at 02:43 PM..
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Old 05-11-2015, 04:17 PM
 
Location: The Greater Houston Metro Area
9,053 posts, read 17,199,048 times
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If you are not going back to it, sell it. Sugar Land is not an ideal place to have a rental, unless you are placing a renter in there to "hold your place" until later. The renter pool isn't huge enough in that area to cover the mortgage plus cushion.

Last edited by cheryjohns; 05-11-2015 at 04:38 PM..
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Old 05-11-2015, 04:26 PM
 
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Check with your lender whether they will even let you do that, some don't count rental income until it's been leased for a full year when it comes to your borrowing limit.
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Old 05-11-2015, 05:16 PM
 
1,915 posts, read 3,240,851 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by megatron34 View Post
We currently live in New Territory (west side of 99) in Sugar land. We plan on moving to a bigger home very close by (Richmond) end of the year. I wanted to get some serious thoughts on whether to sell my current house or rent it out. The value of the home has gone up nicely in the past 2-3 years, i'm just not sure if renting it will make sense given the current economic situation in Houston. I look forward to your thoughts.

Thanks!
If there were a place to have rental in Sugar Land, that would be it. West NT are smaller and cheaper than many other parts of SL but still very desirable. Tax rates are lower there, and you'll probably do OK. That being said you'll probably do just as well if you sell, hold the $$ until stock market tanks then go all in.
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Old 05-11-2015, 05:19 PM
 
1,915 posts, read 3,240,851 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jonathz View Post
I don't think renting is a good investment choice given the increased burden of property tax. Also for the age of your house, you have to consider the on-going maintenance cost as well. Tenants are a lot less care about your property e.g. turn on high AC without replacing air filters, hair clog in your plumbing, overflow dishwasher / damaged food disposer, etc. A single service call could easily cost you a couple of hundred dollars.
If you live close you can do a lot of periodic preventive maintenance before it gets to that, plus carry a good home warranty. That being said, I wouldn't want to be landlord indefinitely, just if I wanted to hold my place for a few years to move back in. Any longer than 5 years, I'd probably sell, unless I had a one of a kind house where the probability of me being able to get something I liked as much without breaking the bank was slim to none - then I'd pony up the risk and rent.
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Old 05-11-2015, 10:30 PM
 
18 posts, read 23,569 times
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Thanks everyone! All of your responses is very valuable info. It sounds like selling is probably the right choice since we don't plan on moving back.
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Old 05-12-2015, 02:26 AM
 
739 posts, read 2,136,053 times
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We were in this same position six years ago. Tried to sell for over a year but the market was depressed. House set vacant for 18 months. Decided to least. $1800 per month. 1st tenant lasted 1.5 years and could not make payment. Evicted tenant without any problem. Second tenant moved in March 2014 and last payment received July, 2014. Hired attorney and went to court. After more than $8000 in attorney fees, tenant evicted by sheriff. Now remodeling house and renting it ($400) to my recently college graduated son.
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Old 05-12-2015, 06:51 AM
 
Location: Memorial Villages
1,514 posts, read 1,793,278 times
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Go to map view of Sugar Land and look at the number of (non-pending) homes vs sale vs the number of homes offered for lease...it's shocking! My wife and I have been casually looking for a rental property for awhile now, but our impression is that too many people have the same idea. SL and other suburban areas (including our own) are swimming in rental properties.
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