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We've been stuck in our house for eight years (we planned to stay in the area for five) because it depreciated so much after we bought it and the market hasn't corrected. At all. My husband is dead set against renting the house out, but I WANT TO GET OUT OF HERE. It's not that the area is bad (it isn't) we just really always planned to move closer to family and the kids are getting older. And older. We would need a rental agent to oversee things for us (we have one in mind).
How bad is it to rent out your house, really? Give me the good, the bad, and the ugly.
As long as you check them out to make sure they have good credit and no evictions you should be okay. My sister had to relocate for her husbands job and they had no choice but to rent out their old home in another state. I think the only problems were them letting kids draw on the walls. Eventually they had to relocate back because the company decided that office/job was not feasible, so the tenants moved out and they moved back in. In the meantime they had bought a new home and my sister loved it, but I'm glad they moved back closer to home.
No one can tell you if it will be good, bad or ugly. It's a crapshoot. It's probably best no to unless you have to.
I decided to try being a landlord out, so I rented out my condo when I moved. (note, it's not a house so it may be different)
I had zero problems with my tenant and they were a nice young couple.
During the four years of land-lordship, the only small problems I had was with the condo board itself (sometimes difficult to deal with and unclear in its laws), and the tenant worked with me on those.
(You would not have condo board problems with a house.)
I liked being a landlord, I thought it was fun and it was a few hundred extra dollars. But eventually, the tenant really wanted to buy, so I sold the unit to them. The sale was completely hassle free.
I guess I was major lucky!! Or perhaps, most of these things work out okay, but it's the problems that you hear about. I was a tenant for many years when I was younger, and always responsible and friendly with my landlords, same for most people I know who ever rented.
Note: I didn't run any type of background check on my tenant. The guy who laid the carpet when I renovated mentioned that his brother and sister-in-law saw the place and wanted to rent it, I said okay, and they moved in. That was probably stupid. I got the lease from Staples.
We've been stuck in our house for eight years (we planned to stay in the area for five) because it depreciated so much after we bought it and the market hasn't corrected. At all. My husband is dead set against renting the house out, but I WANT TO GET OUT OF HERE. It's not that the area is bad (it isn't) we just really always planned to move closer to family and the kids are getting older. And older. We would need a rental agent to oversee things for us (we have one in mind).
How bad is it to rent out your house, really? Give me the good, the bad, and the ugly.
Sell. The market probably won't come back in your area if you are still far down. Many houses drop and never come back and it has nothing to do with the economy.
I live in a community that was built from 2009-2014. Many of the homeowners that purchased in those early years did not sell their houses because of the decreased values. They rented them instead. There is not one single case that I am aware of where these rentals had happy endings or were problem free. NOT ONE.
In 2012, we sold our paid off home in Mesa, AZ to move to Raleigh. We considered renting it, but decided it was less painful to take a low 7 figure loss instead. We hated it, but we've never regretted that decision. (But I resent like hell that I couldn't even get a tax write off for the loss.)
I live in a community that was built from 2009-2014. Many of the homeowners that purchased in those early years did not sell their houses because of the decreased values. They rented them instead. There is not one single case that I am aware of where these rentals had happy endings or were problem free. NOT ONE.
In 2012, we sold our paid off home in Mesa, AZ to move to Raleigh. We considered renting it, but decided it was less painful to take a low 7 figure loss instead. We hated it, but we've never regretted that decision. (But I resent like hell that I couldn't even get a tax write off for the loss.)
Did you consult a accountant on that decision ? I can't see how " a low 7 figure loss" was "less painful" than renting it out and making up for the decreased value on your taxes.
We've been stuck in our house for eight years (we planned to stay in the area for five) because it depreciated so much after we bought it and the market hasn't corrected. At all. My husband is dead set against renting the house out, but I WANT TO GET OUT OF HERE. It's not that the area is bad (it isn't) we just really always planned to move closer to family and the kids are getting older. And older. We would need a rental agent to oversee things for us (we have one in mind).
How bad is it to rent out your house, really? Give me the good, the bad, and the ugly.
You should tell us a little more about your situation. Is this house you live in now mortgaged? Would you have to take out another mortgage for a house to live in where you would move to or could you pay cash, or would you be able to live rent free with relatives? Do you have no financial wiggle room, or do you have a cash cushion to fall back on, or do you have plenty of income left over each month after normal expenses? I ask these questions because it does make a big difference. If one has a tight situation financially and is trying to swing something like this with no cash cushion or extra discretionary income to fall back on in case something goes wrong, it is best not to try it. However, if you have enough cash sitting in the bank to buy another house to live in, you shouldn't be sweating if the rent doesn't flow like the rental agent who promised you the moon said it would.
You say you would need a rental agent? No, what you will need is a property manager. An honest, tough as nails, take no prisoners property manager with plenty of experience; big city experience preferred. You do not need a real estate agent to get you a tenant. Get the experienced property manager first, and let the property manager find you a tenant. I suggest this because most professional property managers will not take on the management of a property with a tenant that they did not select.
As for the all of the sad stories and naysayers so far on this thread, I have to wonder how many went about renting their property the right way with professional property management, or signed the first tenant that came along with a lease from Staples.
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