https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Sun, 10 May 2026 10:35:26 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/sell-our-home-or-rent-it-wwyd#post-2778111 Fri, 06 Oct 2017 13:58:37 +0000 KayKay 2778111@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'd sell. It sounds like the money would be more helpful now/short-term than it would if you rented it/long-term.</p> <p>If you decide you are interested in owning some rental properties, you can specifically look to purchase some for that, factoring in size/finishes/price, location, etc, whenever you are financially able to make that purchase. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/sell-our-home-or-rent-it-wwyd#post-2778084 Fri, 06 Oct 2017 12:33:40 +0000 2PeasinaPod 2778084@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@catlady: Ultimately, we're breaking even on our rent collected vs. our mortgage. On taxes, we're able to take depreciation on the condo and take it as a loss on our taxes. Anything you do for the rental in regards to repairs (even mileage driving there and back) is tax deductible which is super nice too.</p> <p>Ultimately, someone else is paying our mortgage, and we're using it as an investment. Yes, things will come up, but eventually, we'll have a condo that we owe very little on and have built up equity in. We'd like to sell it way down the line to put towards a vacation home. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/sell-our-home-or-rent-it-wwyd#post-2778077 Fri, 06 Oct 2017 12:23:57 +0000 Mrsbells 2778077@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@catlady: I would sell. I don't have any experience renting, but I have heard about it from friends who do and it comes down to the renters. if you get a good renter who takes care of the home it will be a great experience but if you get renters that dont pay and dont take care of the home then it ends up being a nightmare. I'm very risk averse so I would sell and not have to deal with it </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/sell-our-home-or-rent-it-wwyd#post-2778075 Fri, 06 Oct 2017 12:20:51 +0000 Foodnerd81 2778075@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@catlady: you should have seen the excel spreadsheets DH made when deciding whether to sell or rent, and when to sell if we rented it out. Intense. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/sell-our-home-or-rent-it-wwyd#post-2778041 Fri, 06 Oct 2017 10:54:06 +0000 lioneyes 2778041@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Realtor (with personal experience in this!) weighing in!</p> <p>We did this when we moved from NYC to a much lower COL area- kept our NYC apt as a rental and bought a new place with savings. Since we were able to show that we had renters lined up and covering the existing mortgage/overhead, it didn't affect our ability to borrow for the new place.</p> <p>Fast forward 3 years, and we sold the new place at a profit to buy our forever home. We decided to also sell the investment property to help cover renovation costs to our forever home, as rental prices in NYC had dropped and we were just breaking even, when factoring in repairs, property taxes, maybe having it empty for a month, etc. etc. Because we had rented it out for more than 2 out of 5 years, we were hit with Capital Gains at the sale, as well as state taxes (as we had moved out of state). Overall though, those extra 3 years of someone else paying our mortgage made a huge dent, and we also netted more from the sale than we would have 3 years earlier. But I don't know if the headache was worth it (keep in mind we had a building super available to do any repairs, etc. and in 3 years I only went to check on the apartment once, when one tenant moved out).</p> <p>Now, as a Realtor, I will say- having an investment property is a GREAT way to create wealth. Not from a month to month income standpoint, but from a longterm (7+ years) investment one. You will make more than parking that money in the market, and someone else is paying the mortgage. But it is work.</p> <p>So, my longwinded point is, if you do not need those funds in the next few years, I would hold on to the place as a longterm investment and reap the benefits when you sell in 7-10 (or more) years. Yes, Capital Gains will still be a factor, but the longer you hold on to it, there's something called depreciation which means you won't be taxed as much if it's a longterm investment. You will have to keep up with repairs/updates etc., plus finding tenants, but you will make a lot when you eventually sell.</p> <p>If you feel you will need the funds sooner, either for a new place or a renovation or whatever, I would sell now. Not worth the headache/Cap Gains and the real estate market is very strong right now, who knows where it will be in 1-2 years. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/sell-our-home-or-rent-it-wwyd#post-2778036 Fri, 06 Oct 2017 10:31:11 +0000 Shantuck 2778036@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We sold the place we outgrew and applied those funds toward our forever-ish home and I love our new house. I love that we have plenty of space and that I can spend time and money decorating it without the feeling that it won't be worth the effort. I have some friends who couldn't sell their condo for various reasons so they decided to rent it and it seemed like a big burden for them on top of their two school aged children to have to attend to issues, find new renters every year, etc. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/sell-our-home-or-rent-it-wwyd#post-2778010 Fri, 06 Oct 2017 09:15:59 +0000 catlady 2778010@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Smurfette: Ah, that stinks. Ours is a single family, so no condo board luckily. Good call about thinking about cleaning and replacing stuff. I'm sorry you lost money. :( </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/sell-our-home-or-rent-it-wwyd#post-2778006 Fri, 06 Oct 2017 09:05:51 +0000 Smurfette 2778006@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@catlady: Partly it was the building that made the renting process a pain the ass. Our first renter was there for three years. We did a background check, he worked, she was a stay at home wife. Then they had a baby. Any time my husband had to go an do a repair he said the place was clean. Well once they moved out, we realized, not so much. It was disgusting. There was so much grease and grim on the kitchen cabinets. It was not normal wear and tear. The next renter was fine, no issues, but we had a personal connection so I think he took better take because of that. But we still had some issues with him being in his 20's and normal drinking behavior and the condo board not liking it. Unless you are making a lot of money, and have it set aside for cleaning, replacing carpet/flooring each time, not worth. We lost so much money over the years in time between renters, fixing things, etc. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/sell-our-home-or-rent-it-wwyd#post-2778004 Fri, 06 Oct 2017 08:59:08 +0000 catlady 2778004@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@2PeasinaPod: Oh man, that stinks. We actually just replaced our water heater, so we are ok there. And we have a new HVAC system, and a whole bunch of other appliances. I am hopeful that nothing more would fail, but you are right, you never know!</p> <p>@Smurfette: Did you have bad renters? Just curious why it was so bad for you. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/sell-our-home-or-rent-it-wwyd#post-2777995 Fri, 06 Oct 2017 08:46:53 +0000 Smurfette 2777995@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Sell. Being a landlord sucks. I felt a huge relief selling our condo the end of August. Even after having to write a check to do it. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/sell-our-home-or-rent-it-wwyd#post-2777994 Fri, 06 Oct 2017 08:45:24 +0000 2PeasinaPod 2777994@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@PawPrints: This! I loved that we could leisurely get ourselves out of the condo into the new house without having to race against the clock as well.</p> <p>@catlady: I can't wait for the management company! We had relatively good tenants over the years, but getting that call at the most inconvenient time and having to rush over is a huge stressor. Also, if you know that your hot water heater is approaching 12 years old, it might be a good idea to replace it before someone moves in so that you don't get that call. We didn't realize how old ours was, and it burst. So not a fun phone call. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/sell-our-home-or-rent-it-wwyd#post-2777988 Fri, 06 Oct 2017 08:39:42 +0000 PawPrints 2777988@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Oh yeah also... The luxury of NOT having to scramble to sell and buy at the same time was so nice it would have been worth it just for that! When we do sell it's going to be so so much less stressful since we're already settled in our forever-ish home and not racing against the clock. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/sell-our-home-or-rent-it-wwyd#post-2777984 Fri, 06 Oct 2017 08:33:12 +0000 catlady 2777984@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@2PeasinaPod: Great idea about going with a management company. I think that is probably what we would do if we decide to go that route. I'm glad to hear you've had a pretty good experience so far! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/sell-our-home-or-rent-it-wwyd#post-2777979 Fri, 06 Oct 2017 08:30:58 +0000 catlady 2777979@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@PawPrints: @Foodnerd81: @Anagram: Thanks for bringing up capital gains. We had thought about that before but this is a good reminder. Right now we're actually wondering if the best course might be to rent for 1-2 years and then sell so that we can still get the tax exemption but also benefit from a few more years of our house value rising so quickly. We should probably break out excel and crunch some numbers.</p> <p>I hate hearing all the stories about horrible tenants and everything in the house breaking but it's good for me to keep that in mind.</p> <p>This is all great food for thought. Thanks everyone! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/sell-our-home-or-rent-it-wwyd#post-2777969 Fri, 06 Oct 2017 08:15:21 +0000 2PeasinaPod 2777969@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'd rent! I know it's personal preference and there are people who wouldn't even want to think about becoming a landlord, but it's worth it. DH bought a 2 bedroom condo before we were married, and we lived there for 2 years. We've since bought our forever home together, and we've rented out the condo for the last 8 years. </p> <p>Have there been challenges? Of course. Make sure you have a fund that can help with repairs, especially if the big ticket items (HVAC, Hot Water Heater, Appliances) are older and there's any chance you'll need to replace them. For the last 8 years, we've been managing the property ourselves. It's getting to be a bit much, and so we're going to go with a management company when our current tenant moves out at the end of the month. They will price, list, and manage the property for us. So they'll do the background checks of the people we'll be renting to, and they'll handle the application process and even have the rent checks sent to them to deposit right into our account. It's a 5% fee, but again...sooooo worth it. If you can swing this, go for it. It takes the hassle everyone is talking about out of the equation. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/sell-our-home-or-rent-it-wwyd#post-2777963 Fri, 06 Oct 2017 08:02:14 +0000 Anagram 2777963@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@catlady: I kept my the townhouse I owned before marriage for a few years after we moved from the Dallas area to the NYC area. There's so much to consider when you have a rental. </p> <p>There's the cash flow issue--things can and will break, so you have to be prepared to fix those things immediately in the rental, and deal with the headache of coordinating the renter's schedule with the repairman's schedule (This is if you do this stuff yourself and you don't pay a property management company). You can write off almost every expense related to the rental though, even down to gas money for you to go there and back. So if you decide to rent, keep every single receipt and stay organized. Even if you take a loss on the rent each month, you can write off the loss. Capital gains is murky--to get an exclusion, you must have owned and lived in your home as your principal residence an aggregate of at least two of the five years before the sale (this is called the ownership and use test). I sold my home right before 3 years was up so I could say I'd lived in it 2 of the last 5 years. BUT you can also avoid capital gains if you roll the profit from an eventual sale into another similar investment of a rental home. If you are making a big profit each year because rental prices are much higher than your mortgage+taxes+fees, then you might want to calculate the rental income vs the eventual capital gains tax and see if you come out on top (And the capital gains tax depends on your joint gross income).</p> <p>As far as being a landlord goes--it can go either way. I have a couple of girl friends who did exactly what I did--bought a house pre-marriage and turned it into a rental post marriage. I also had years of landlord experience because I had previously owned a condo that I rented when I first bought my townhouse, then I always rented a spare bedroom in my townhouse while I lived there. But long story short, I had many years of good tenants (thank god, because in retrospect, I was pretty lax on my landlord know-how), and then the year before we sold, we had a run of super bad "luck" that caused a huge headache for us and it was just too much. My girlfriends have had similar experiences. Good tenants until they got a really bad one. We've all had to evict a tenant.</p> <p>After several years of good tenants, I rented to a young couple who just sucked. They paid their rent but basically never told me about issues and let a leak go for months without telling me--which caused us to have to pay 15-20k in major repairs. Immediately after they moved out and we made the repairs, we got in a guy who moved in and basically immediately stopped paying rent. So then we had to legally evict him at a time when I also was having LO2--so my husband had to fly back and forth several times for court appearances and sheriff-escorted eviction proceedings, while I was alone with a 2 year old and a newborn at home. So anyway, at that point, we decided to sell, haha.</p> <p>Luckily it worked out and we still made a profit when we sold, but that last few months was stressful. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/sell-our-home-or-rent-it-wwyd#post-2777945 Thu, 05 Oct 2017 20:32:06 +0000 summerfruit 2777945@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I rented out my house when we relocated and weren't able to sell the house right away. It was a big pain because we lived far away and because the first property manager was not a good one. </p> <p>If you live close and your townhome is low maintenance, it might be doable. However, it sounds like having the cash from selling that place could really help you with your next home purchase. Plus, if you have a bad renter, that's going to negate any monetary gain from renting out your place. Is that a risk you're willing to take? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/sell-our-home-or-rent-it-wwyd#post-2777942 Thu, 05 Oct 2017 20:07:53 +0000 MACSUNSHINE 2777942@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We are south of Boston and having a similar discussion. We are landlords on a number of properties that we have acquired over the years so we see the value in that. But we are testing the market and just listed our current home, the market is hot which is impacting the price of our next home so if we can pull some equity to land in our forever home it is worth it to us. It truly is a question of numbers and if you are up for being a landlord, it can be a huge pain over time but the long term financial gains are worth it. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/sell-our-home-or-rent-it-wwyd#post-2777907 Thu, 05 Oct 2017 17:04:51 +0000 Foodnerd81 2777907@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Oh and our mortgage was approved based on us not selling or renting it, so theoretically I could they could have approved us for higher but we didn’t want to spend more anyway. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/sell-our-home-or-rent-it-wwyd#post-2777906 Thu, 05 Oct 2017 17:04:05 +0000 Foodnerd81 2777906@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@catlady: we are renting our condo in Boston after moving last year. It’s been overall positive so far. The rent more than covers the mortgage and hoa, but not by enough to make it worth it only for that. But we expect the property to continue to increase in value so we are counting on that more than just the rent. So far our tenant is good and signed on for a second year. </p> <p>That said, we had a bunch of things come up in the first year that were annoying. We knew the oven was going to go soon but it died in the first couple months and we had to replace it. The hvac completely randomly died and we had to replace it. Dh didn’t want to pay for a full property manager so he spent a lot of time dealing with those issues that could have been spent in OUR house that we live in. </p> <p>Overall I think it’s going to be worth it but we will reevaluate before the capital gains kick in (in Boston I think you have to live in it for two of the last five years or something similar. So we have two years to decide). </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/sell-our-home-or-rent-it-wwyd#post-2777903 Thu, 05 Oct 2017 16:49:47 +0000 PawPrints 2777903@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@catlady: I just double checked with my husband since I was having trouble remembering the process we went through. When we got to the point of actually securing the loan, we were in conversation with the lending agent and were able to explain our plan to him, so he took that into account in approving our loan. So our loan was just as large as it would have been if we'd sold the townhouse. </p> <p>So, if you're assuming you'd have to settle and make sacrifices based on the assumption your approved loan would be smaller, that may not be the case! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/sell-our-home-or-rent-it-wwyd#post-2777901 Thu, 05 Oct 2017 16:45:32 +0000 gingerbebe 2777901@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@catlady: We just sold our house and stretched to buy a bigger one. It's not a perfect forever home, but it's like 75% there and rest we can fix and update over time. Capital gains taxes was a big factor in the decision since we could net the proceeds with no tax implications. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/sell-our-home-or-rent-it-wwyd#post-2777899 Thu, 05 Oct 2017 16:40:00 +0000 Mamatimes3 2777899@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I would sell it. Being a landlord can be a big pain. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/sell-our-home-or-rent-it-wwyd#post-2777898 Thu, 05 Oct 2017 16:38:22 +0000 Mrs. Lemon-Lime 2777898@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We are landlords. My SIL lives in a condo we bought. The home has appreciated greatly over the 3 years or so we have had it. She is not the best tenant ( late/ partial rent) and is very slow to report things, which makes it more costly for us. If she wasn't family we wouldn't put up with this, but evictions take time and expense even if we had a non-family renter that was just like her.</p> <p>We thought about renting our house instead of selling since it would be competitive in the market we used to live in. Ultimately we decided our former house's finishs were too nice and the costs to repair if damaged by a renter would be too much.</p> <p>I'd probably sell and buy the nicest home I can afford and be happy with. It's weird, but having a home- a room I like makes a total difference in my mood. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/sell-our-home-or-rent-it-wwyd#post-2777893 Thu, 05 Oct 2017 16:12:52 +0000 Boogs 2777893@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We are in the process of buying a second property. While we will still be in not our dream home, the potential profit on our rental should really help our family long term. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/sell-our-home-or-rent-it-wwyd#post-2777889 Thu, 05 Oct 2017 15:51:59 +0000 PawPrints 2777889@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@catlady: I was only mentioning the size of the downpayment since you had said you would "have to really settle" if you didn't sell the current house first - I'm saying, don't settle! </p> <p>But sounds like you're pretty interested in renting out the townhouse - again, we have had a great and smooth experience. I'm surprised so many people on this thread are opposed to the idea! Where I live it's super common to rent out your first home when you upgrade. Nearly everyone in our townhouse neighborhood ended up renting theirs out for a while at least. I would just encourage you to hire an excellent property manager who will make sure you get good tenants and handle most of the day to day stuff that comes up. So, will need to factor in that cost too.</p> <p>To answer your question; we had zero problem getting approved for the second mortgage.</p> <p>[ETA] One other thing to consider is capital gains, which hits you when you eventually sell the townhouse. You avoid that if you sell within (I think) two years, otherwise you have to pay since it isn't your primary residence. We are still wrestling with whether we'll sell at the 2-year point or stick it out and gamble we'll make up more than that in rent income and home equity. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/sell-our-home-or-rent-it-wwyd#post-2777884 Thu, 05 Oct 2017 15:28:00 +0000 catlady 2777884@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@PawPrints: This is helpful and it sounds like we are in a similar situation. May I ask, was it difficult to get the 2nd mortgage? We actually do have a substantial downpayment saved up, even without having to sell, and we've been approved for a huge mortgage without selling. But we were assuming that our first mortgage would be factored into how much money we have leaving us each month (as opposed to considering it a positive with rental income). So that is a big reason why we are assuming we can't afford as much if we don't sell. (The 2 daycare tuitions on top of it all don't help!) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/sell-our-home-or-rent-it-wwyd#post-2777882 Thu, 05 Oct 2017 15:24:20 +0000 catlady 2777882@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@periwinklebee: Thanks, yes we've thought of this. Our taxes would increase but not much. Our local tax rate even without the resident deduction is like 1/3 of tax rates in other nearby towns. So that wouldn't be an issue. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/sell-our-home-or-rent-it-wwyd#post-2777881 Thu, 05 Oct 2017 15:22:41 +0000 periwinklebee 2777881@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Check the property tax implications of renting in your municipality. My recollection is that you're in the Boston area - property tax rates will be higher if you rent instead of being the owner-occupier, but how much higher depends on which town you're in. It varies I think a lot, but can be really substantial if the community is trying to discouraging renting this way. </p> <p>My husband rented the place we live in now for awhile because he had to move temporarily to another city for work but knew he wanted to eventually come back. No serious headaches with renters, but because of the property tax implications it netted less money than you'd think (also, the rental market wasn't as hot back then...) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/sell-our-home-or-rent-it-wwyd#post-2777879 Thu, 05 Oct 2017 15:18:09 +0000 Finfan 2777879@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Do you actually want to be landlords? It seems like such a headache. </p> <p>I would sell and get the place I really want. </p>