Moving Out: To Sell or To Rent

So you’re moving out. Should you sell your home and take the profit, or keep it as a rental property? Here are some things to consider before making your choice.

Selling

The majority of homeowners will sell their home before moving into a new one. Here are the pros and cons.

Pros:

• Get the profit now. If you sell, you’ll be able to use the profit toward your new home – fast. If you choose to rent, you may still make a nice profit – but it will be gradual and will not help you buy a new home now.

• You don’t need to maintain 2 homes. By selling, you release yourself from the responsibility of your first home. If you decide to rent, you will now need to maintain both properties.

• Not as complicated legally. Becoming a landlord is not simple. There are legal and tax measures you would need to figure out. If you sell, you don’t have to worry about that.

Cons:

• You lose an asset. A home is a valuable asset. If you sell – you are losing that. 

• Miss out on monthly income. Renting does mean that you have a steady (hopefully) stream of monthly income. You are giving up that opportunity when you sell.

• Have to deal with the sales process. Selling a home isn’t easy. Simply put – by selling, you now have a lot of hoops to jump through before you’re ready to hand over the keys.

Renting it Out

Keeping a property as a rental investment is becoming a popular choice, even among the upper-middle class. Here are our pros and cons.

Pros:

• The potential for semi-passive income. If you rent out your home, you will have monthly income for every month you have a tenant. We call this semi-passive, because you still have work to do. You will need to keep up with maintenance.

• Hold on to a valuable asset. By renting out your old home, you maintain a huge asset financially. This could come in handy in the future, and it will likely appreciate in value.

• Avoid the fees of selling. Selling a home includes a lot of fees (to brokers, stagers,  inspectors, etc.). You will avoid all of that by renting.

Cons:

• You are now the landlord. Landlords have a lot of responsibility. It’s hard enough taking care of your own home – you’ll now be expected to take care of repairs and maintenance for your tenants, too.

• You are paying for all vacant months. If you have a lapse between tenants, you are still paying the mortgage. Hopefully this doesn’t happen frequently, but it very well could.

• Your tenants might not take care of your property. Renters don’t  have any reason to treat your property well – because they don’t own it. You may have to deal with extra repairs in the long run due to irresponsible renters.

Selling and renting both have their pros and cons – which one do you prefer? Let us know in the comments.

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