Sell or rent?
jwatson_1758
8 years ago
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8 years agocpartist
8 years agoRelated Discussions
Not selling. Have you rented you home?
Comments (17)I agree, if you're renting, do it yourself - just make sure you have a good understanding with, and trust in the individual or family who will be moving in. If you have trouble finding someone, there are plenty of free places to advertise your home (craigslist.com is just one of many). Whether youÂre renting or selling, I am convinced the best way to generate interest in your home is to give searching parties a visual impression of how great the place is. You can list all the perks you want in text, but a photograph will grab someoneÂs emotions and can make them really want your place. Unless you're in a very lucky location (like a hot-spot in the Big Apple where it doesn't matter if an apartment has the size (and appeal) of a small closet, because people will always want the location...) you're going to have to spruce the place up and promote all of your home's good sides. So I suggest two things: First, definitely clean the place up to stage it, and I'm sure you already have started. If you haven't, there are plenty of resources with tips for home decoration specific to selling / renting your home: curbly.com, for example, and many others. One of the best timesaving things you can do is to put up some tasteful and "safe" artwork (no framed posters, modern art or family photos) on your walls. I recommend a place like http://artcollectorsguild.com because you know you're getting a solid time tested piece that really looks good and brightens up a room with atmosphere. Then, you need to get someone to help you take some professional, appealing photographs to show off your home in posts on the web (you don't want to have to pay for ads if you don't have to). In a country of over 300,000,000 people, there must be one searching for a home in you're area and they may well be looking for it on line. I rented out my apartment and shared photos with the Art Collectors' Guild because it was really the artwork I got from them that made the difference. This was my first experience with home staging and I learned a lot. I do think itÂs a good example of what can be done with some artwork, a camera and the World Wide Web. Here is a link that might be useful: staging my appartment...See Moreunoccupied house dilema
Comments (6)I wouldn't set thermostat as low as 40F in a climate as cold as Pittsburgh; 50F would be safer as at 40F you only have a few degrees margin should you lose power in the winter, or if one part of the house is substantially colder. Beware of turning off the water heater (if it is a separate appliance) completely because it may be contributing heat to the basement and helping to keep the pipes from freezing. If you have water and drain plumbing in the external walls, you might consider draining those lines. They may be fine for short periods at much lower than normal inside temps, but without being used they might wind up freezing if there are gaps in the insulation. I have one sink that is in a cold pocket and unless we use it regularly in the winter, it can freeze up in cold snaps. (I am in northern NY in an occupied house.) You should have someone come in every few days and look at it in the winter. They should keep a log of the visits, too. You might also wish to invest in some temperature and water alarms that are set up to automatically call you in Atlanta. That way you'd have notification between visits by your caretaker. In my experience having neighbors look out for an unoccupied structure is just that: they would pay attention if a tree fell, or a door was opened in the wind, but frankly, unless you are paying someone to come and walk through the house, you really don't have much back-up. When I owned a house in VA (but didn't live there regularly), I had a burst pipe in a heating system and it spewed water out of the hole for days, possibly for weeks. By very good luck a movie location scout happened to visit the property (unknown to me) and she heard the water running in the building and very kindly took the trouble to track me down in NY. Even though it was a catastrophic mess, I was still lucky that a random visitor saw it when she did. It could have resulted in the loss of the entire building due to water damage. Even though that house had been left for long periods (6 -12 months at a time before), that taught me never to leave a house without a paid watcher again. I sure slept better. Your homeowners' insurance may be a problem if you remove the furniture as then it is a vacant dwelling. Some companies are quite unhappy with that. HTH, Molly~...See MoreSell v. rent home in desirable part of Orlando? (Am out-of-state)
Comments (3)I would sell it now. I recently owned a rental home in FL, so have an idea about the stress related to this. It is a carefree feeling to NOT own a rental. I am still dancing on air after selling it! #1) Your homeowners insurance MIGHT not have coverage if the home is vacant for, say, 30 days. Read your policy. ALso - you need to have a policy for the home as a rental. #2) Even with decent renters and even if the home is in good shape, you will have to maintain the home for things that naturally need repair/replacement. For example, appliance the break or need repair, plumbing back-ups, garage door stops opening/closing, etc. You might find that the home you live in(as far as maintenance) comes second to the rental home. #3) Landscaping - Renters will mow the lawn if you are lucky and that is about it. Forget about weeding, mulch, watering during drought.(Even if it is in the lease). And if you pay for lawn cutting, it is hard to find someone that shows up when needed. I went through 4 lawn companies in 2.5 years. Some would not show up but swear they did. Others scalped the lawn so bad in areas that there was no green grass showing after they were done. #4) There is a chance that the renters are dirty and/or will destroy some of your home. Expect to repaint the interior, possibly recarpet. Have Before and After photos of all rooms and as much detail as possible. When you recarpet, you can't charge them full cost. You have to prorate based on how old the carpet was when they moved in (even if it is in great shape.) #5) Your insurance is subject to cancel at any time -merely due to the shakey Insurance situation in FL. It is stressful to have to get a new carrier. #6) What if the home burns down, or has storm damage? Then the renters move out and you no longer get rent income, but then YOU have to redo the home before selling. (unless someone buys it from you for dirt cheap.) #7) The home might have periods of vacancy that are longer than what you expect. #8) It is a hassle to track every detail for Income Taxes. More tax forms to fill out each year....See MoreSell or rent in Hawaii
Comments (11)Thanks - the reason I wrote was to get objective perspective - we are way to emotional on this. FYI - I didn't realize I would be asked to justify past decisions - Don't want to sound ddefensive - but here goes. I was transferred to Hawaii for my job, we werent sure if we would like it there so refinanced the CA house to use equity as down payment for the Hawaii house. We then rented out the CA house. Always knew that we couldn't afford both over the long haul - but got 5 year fixed IOs on both with great rates to buy us time to figure out where we wanted to be. We still have three years left (not two). The renovating was about me thinking I was keeping the house. (however with the market shift - selling would have been a bear at that price point without having the house in good shape). Job picture changed - I left my company to come back to CA and move into my CA house. The emotion comes in with really believing that over the long haul - this house / location will really appreciate big and we will probably never have the same opportunity again. (not to mention I love the house and living in Hawaii). In addition the IO loan won't put us underwater for three more years - until then we will be positive. I wasn't betting on the rental market, really just figuring out where we want to live. Now we are struggling with "letting go". I never went into this with an "astute investor" mentality (or I wouldn't have two expensive houses - we would be at the other end of the market for rentals). In addition, I have ready much about the economy - With the current issue with Jumbos - I am concerned that this may not be the moment to put this house on the market. I feel certain that the Jumbo market will open back up eventually - but the next six months or so may cause more pain. Thanks for helping me take the emotion out...See Morebry911
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