Should You Rent or Sell Your Home?

There are many great Louisville area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Value Report so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at (502) 458-2722 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

When deciding you want to move out of your current home, the question often comes to mind: "Should I sell it or rent it out?" In our opinion, it's often better to sell the property. Here's 2 reasons why:

1. Look at the numbers: You need to make sure your principal payment is no more that 60%. If you think you can rent your home for $1000 a month, your principle payment should be around $500, $600 maximum. You need to account for expenses such as taxes, insurance, maintenance, repairs, vacancy, marketing, and managing.
2. Money in the bank: Prepare to get your home back in much worse condition than when you started renting it out. We've seen homes that need as much as $15,000 worth of repairs. Even if the repairs aren't that expensive, you're unlikely to get as much as you would have if you sold it years ago.

All in all, it's better to sell your home than to rent it. Tenants are unpredictable and can often cause more problems than it's worth. However, if you have the right financial situation and a temperament for renting houses, there is no reason you shouldn't. Renting isn't for everyone, but if you are up to the challenge you should do it. If you want any further advice on the issue, we'd be happy to talk. Give us a call or shoot us an email for some tips on your particular situation.