It's the age-old question: do you rent or sell your own home?
There are a lot of articles that talk about the virtues of renting. But if you're still wary, you're rightfully so. Renting isn't the wonderful, flawless thing that a lot of people make it out to be.
There are a lot of things that get glossed over when people are trying to convince you to rent instead of sell. Before you hop aboard the renting bandwagon, you need to consider the fact that ...
Renting Can Get Expensive
When you rent out a house, you expect that you have to pay for a mortgage and things like the electricity bill. You factor that into your rent.
But there are hidden costs of renting out your home, too, including increased insurance costs and legal fees.
It will be very hard to make a profit as more and more of these costs come to light. And because people aren't always very honest, you'll probably get more than a few renters who waste your time and don't pay and lose money on them.
Which brings us to our next point ...
Renters Will Destroy the Home
Think of how much mess you can reasonably deal with. Now double that.
If you're renting out your house for any length of time, you can expect to have to deal with that at some point in your career.
People can be incredibly disgusting, especially when they're nearing the end of their lease and they know that they won't have to stick around to deal with the mess later.
In some cases, they can actually do serious damage to the home, and it can be very difficult to hold them accountable.
This can have lasting consequences if you want to sell later.
Being a Landlord Is Time Consuming
Everything about being a landlord takes much of your time.
From building relationships with tenants to checking on them and making sure they're paying rent on time, renting out your home is not something you can take lightly.
A lot of people picture it as an easy, stress-free way to make money, but this could not be further from the truth.
Renting out your home causes a lot of stress and uncertainty. And it's going to take a lot of time as you work through the unique issues that every new tenant will bring.
Don't go into renting your house without thoroughly considering the pros and cons first. Because the cons are too easy to overlook until they're staring you in the face.
Ready to Sell Your Own Home?
If you've read through this and realized that renting isn't for you, that's okay! We're more than happy to help you sell your own home.
Selling can be stressful, too, but it doesn't have to be. And the stress also lasts a lot less time than renting — once it's done, it's done.
If you'd like help selling your own home, contact us today for more information!