What about renting instead of selling?

[steve22]

Originally Posted by Magnum Mike

If I were in your situation, I'd probably rent the house out, but you also have to keep in mind that you'll be the landlord and you'll be responsible for whatever happens in the house like repairs, and in some cases upkeep of landscape. Remember also that tenants in your house will be like the typical people who rent cars, if it's not theirs, they may abuse it. That's why it's important to make sure the tenants are the decent and the responsible type, who can be trusted with your house.

I agree- unless you're independently wealthy and can take on the potential added costs of house repairs if something goes wrong or someone seriously damages your place, or potentially the cost of 2 mortgages if you get stiffed on rent and have to cover until you find another tenant, or possibly legal fees if you have to evict someone, renting is not a good idea. If you entrust a major investment of yours to someone you've never met and don't know personally, it can lead to disaster. Remember that most of the laws related to rental properties are favorable to tenants- it can be VERY expensive and difficult to get someone out of your place if you try to evict them. The law of abandonment is very difficult to get around, and trust me, some bottom-feeding lawyer somewhere will find a way to make a human piece of trash look like the victim, and make you out to be an evil person in court for trying to protect your investment.

And also, any illegal activities which might take place in your house, you'll be responsible for. In a place like Phoenix, with so many scumbags around, illegal or otherwise, the type of person who may rent your house might turn out to be a criminal. Imagine if your home turns into a meth lab or a drop house- you might go to jail, or in the best case scenario, the value of your house could plummet like a stone. I do know for a fact that any house that's been used as a meth lab is basically considered completely unlivable afterwards due to all the toxins around, and the value in that case of your home is nil. It'd be condemned and you'd be ruined. Something to think about.

[Nice Nice Baby!]

If you do this rental process correctly, it can be a very good option. As others have said, make sure you screen the applicants with past references and a credit check. If you happen to have a tenant who becomes late on payments, it's easier to get rid of them than the two previous posts have put it. After 10 days late you can start with the notifications, and after 15 days send it certified. If you do not see the full amount with in 30 days, you can legally evict tenant if you take proper procedures. This is how it works in Arizona and it's different in other states. The rental market is ALIVE and well. I speak to my best friend who is an agent on the east side, and he has to turn people away. People need to live somewhere and many can't afford it or just need it temporarily. Just make sure you screen well.

[MotleyCrew]

It is a tough choice. We went back and forth for months. I hate to see someone lose money on their home. We went with a rental agency, Century 21 in Anthem and they were great. They do not charge you a fee until they find you an acceptable tenant. A credit check and background check is provided and passed on to you. We were lucky to find such a good tenant and do not think we would have slept at night going to Craigs list. We will probably sell when the rental lease is up next year, providing the market is better at that time. Best of luck in your move.

[PhoenixRT]

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

Doesn't that mean that there are a zillion rentals out there too as competition? I think a lot of sellers are saying "I'll just rent it till things improve." But when many do that the rental market gets saturated too.

There are a good amount of rentals...but i think your more likely to get a renter (especially in surprise where your somewhat close to Luke AFB with all the military families)...BUT alot of those vacant homes are bank owner and they dont rent them out.....they just let them sit there without anyone in them....so those bank owned foreclosures arent really rental competition.

I think you would be more likely to rent it out VS selling it at this point

[steve22]

Originally Posted by Nice Nice Baby!

If you do this rental process correctly, it can be a very good option. As others have said, make sure you screen the applicants with past references and a credit check. If you happen to have a tenant who becomes late on payments, it's easier to get rid of them than the two previous posts have put it. After 10 days late you can start with the notifications, and after 15 days send it certified. If you do not see the full amount with in 30 days, you can legally evict tenant if you take proper procedures. This is how it works in Arizona and it's different in other states. The rental market is ALIVE and well. I speak to my best friend who is an agent on the east side, and he has to turn people away. People need to live somewhere and many can't afford it or just need it temporarily. Just make sure you screen well.

The bottom line is, even if you are successful in eventually getting a bad tenant out of your property, you're still stuck with legal fees and faced with the problem of having to pay your old mortgage until they're out and you find a new tenant. That could be a serious problem, especially if you're no longer living locally. If you're living somewhere far away and have your new mortgage or rental payment to worry about, and aren't financially well-off enough to be able to absorb those added costs for awhile, you can see the danger. If you're not in a situation where you're comfortable enough to take that chance- and it doesn't sound like these people are- I wouldn't recommend it. It doesn't matter what a potential tenant's credit report says, when you don't know someone pretty well, you're taking a big gamble with a huge investment. Remember that Phoenix is the identity theft capitol of this country, too- just because someone's credit report checks out, it doesn't mean they are who they say they are.

[Nice Nice Baby!]

The cost for legal fees is under $100. You can file for court fees with in 30 days. Make sure you know the process, because I'm too lazy to get my real estate book and notes to type it out here. I agree with a lot of what your stating. I WAS a landlord a couple years ago, and had to go through it. The fact that it was during a good period was nice, but what headaches I had to go through keeping up with the tenant. I would only do it again if it was necessary, and I have no plans to do this any time soon.

[scktsa]

We rented a house a few years back. First Renter's were a nightmare. Got them out and fixed the house back up and used a Management Company to rent again. That went very well ... UNTIL .. the tenant's got a hold of us directly and instead of referring them back to the Management Company we began talking to them about a Lease/Purchase. Whole thing started going weird and that ended up being a bad deal too.

Our lesson? Unless you have the right skills for dealing with Renters, use a Management Company. They were not expensive considering all that they took care of for us.

We owed more on the house than it was worth when we began to rent and in the year and a half we had renter's we gained enough equity to be able to sell the house.

Candy

[Nice Nice Baby!]

I know! That's the problem with renters.

[azsundevil]

Talk to your tax person! It may not be beneficial for you to rent it out. Also, it sounds like a lot of people are sitting on the sidelines waiting for things to improve and deciding to rent their house out for a while. Does this mean there is going to be a flood of homes on the market in a couple of years? There is no crystal ball to say when things will improve, it could be next month or it could be 5-10 yrs. I don't think we are ever going to see the appreciation of the past. It was very unrealistic. A home should only appreciate 3-6% a year. If you can come out ahead enough for a down payment on a home where you are relocating then I would probably just sell. Do you really want to be a landlord?