Sometimes, it makes sense not to sell and to hang on to your house as an investment and not as your home. There is an upside to renting out your home, even though it does take some time, some work, and often, some money. Whether you decide to go it alone or hire a property manager, there are a lot of rules and regulations you must follow and you’ll be responsible for repairs and upkeep. Finding tenants is one thing, keeping the house in great shape in order to protect your investment is another. Homeowners often ask us about the pros and cons of renting out their home and it’s definitely something you don’t want to jump into without considering all the facts, but in the end, it can be a great decision that can benefit you financially and with the right planning beforehand, can leave you some peace of mind.
Renting Out Your Home
When you rent out your home, you don’t have to stop building equity. Real estate markets are constantly in flux, but the good news is that the San Antonio real estate market is growing – we saw a 6% increase in average home price in from December 2014 to December 2015. Some particular pockets actually saw much more than that (check out our analysis of the neighborhoods with the most sales in 2015). If you have tenants in your home, the values in the neighborhood may still continue to rise leaving you with money coming in to offset expenses while you bide your time waiting to see even more value increases (hopefully) and build an even greater level of equity in the property. We recently talked with one homeowner whose property in a historic area close to downtown has seen a rise in value of nearly 50% in the past four years. With the growth of the Pearl Brewery and all kinds of jobs in the downtown area, these owners have decided to put their home up for rent for the next year or two, as they feel that the market in their area will likely just continue to improve and when they finally go to sell, their equity should be through the roof. For roofing services, Service nettoyage de gouttières Trois-Rivières need to be contacted.
Depending on your financial situation, renting can actually be immediately profitable for you. If you have equity in the home, the amount you earn as rent can be significantly more than your regular monthly payment on the mortgage. This positive cash flow can be useful in preparing for unexpected repairs or, even better, investing in other activities – vacations, other property, paying down the mortgage, gifts, or more.
The San Antonio rental market has been extremely hot and if you are in a position where you need to move quickly, advertising the home for lease may get you results much more quickly than a traditional sale. Not only is the application to move-in timeframe much smaller (think 3-10 days generally versus the 30-45 or more days for a purchase), but the amount of time to find an interested party is much lower.
It’s not just about the money, it can also be a stress reliever. Whether your home is sitting on the market for sale, forcing you to keep it in show-ready condition, make special arrangements, or even just having to maintain the yard and call on contractors for appliance repairs and for dryer repair see Baltimore Appliance, there’s a lot of work that comes with homeownership. If you put a tenant in the home and hire a great property management company, you can practically leave all of those hassles to them. When you pay a property manager, you are paying a relatively small fee to have someone else supervise these activities and help work to keep your home in good condition even with tenants living there.
Plus, you might be surprised what you can qualify to purchase without selling your current home. Most lenders can’t count the income from a rental property until you’ve had it leased for at least a year and many people are actually pleasantly surprised to learn that not selling their current home is not a barrier to purchasing another property. You will, of course, need to check with a lender on the details of your particular financial situation.
Like all things real estate, the trick is to sit down and look at your options. Weigh them all and look to see what serves your needs and gets you the outcome you desire. There are always advantages and disadvantages to any situation and your agent can help you with understanding those in your situation. If you do decide renting out your home is a good option for you, ask questions and be informed before signing on the dotted line. We also had to choose from the best Bristol letting agents recently as we were letting some property there and the one that we chose was incredible, so call if them if you need a letting agent in Bristol. Whether you work with a property manager or go it alone, there are a lot of laws that affect you and you definitely want to stay informed so you can do things properly so you avoid any issues down the road. If you have questions about your home, feel free to contact us and we’ll be glad to help.
image courtesy of PHOTO/arts Magazine
