Should I Sell or Rent My House Out? Key Factors To Help You Decide
A new job, a desire to relocate, or the opportunity to seize your dream home can create an agonizing decision: Should I sell my house or rent it out? If you decide to rent, you could realize a new source of income from your tenant. But selling allows you to use your equity to help purchase your next home. We spoke with two investors who have experienced both sides of the coin to help you navigate the pros and cons of selling your house versus renting it out.
A tale of two owners
Whether you should sell your house or rent it out depends on several factors. These include your potential rental income compared to expenses, the work you want to put into it, your potential profit if you sell, and other goals you have.
And it’s certainly a difficult decision, even for experts. Here are two stories of how renting vs. selling didn’t work out as planned.
Renting regrets: Bad renters turn investment sour
Greg Kurzner, a leading real estate investor in Atlanta, bought and renovated a home in Stone Mountain, Georgia, a few years ago. Several agents asked if he was interested in selling, but he decided to rent it out.
He had trouble attracting tenants with decent credit and rental histories, so after the house sat empty for a few months, he relaxed his criteria and secured a tenant. Everything seemed OK for three months, but then the problems started: late rent, excuses, and finally, a drawn-out eviction.
When Kurzner regained possession of the house, he found that all of the brand-new fixtures and hard work he had put into it were ruined.
“I let my hope override my common sense and made a costly decision to rent a home to an unqualified tenant rather than have a vacant house and no rent,” he says. Kurzner eventually sold the property, but not until he had spent another $12,000 in repairs to fix what his tenant had damaged.
Seller’s remorse: A missed $185k opportunity
TJ Sayers, a real estate investor in Birmingham, Alabama, owns a company that typically buys 50–60 properties per year, many of which are turned into rentals. To this day, he still regrets selling one particular property.
He bought the house in 2010 for $105,000 and lived there until 2017, when he sold it for $185,000. At the time, he owed around $80,000 on the mortgage. After commissions and closing costs, he profited about $85,000. In the current market, the property would sell for about $225,000. And if Sayers had kept it, he could have rented it for $1,250 per month for the last three years.
“If I had used all of the rent to pay down the mortgage, I would only owe around $40,000 today, so I would have $185,000 in equity if I still owned the property,” he says.
