A Little Something Extra

Sunday, September 20, 2009

The Renting Debate

We're considering renting out our house here instead of selling it (at a loss) to Mark's employer. There's a high likelihood that Mark will be transfered back here eventually and then we wouldn't have to go house hunting again when we get back here. And we REALLY like our house and the neighborhood.

We've never been "landlords" before. Readers, have any of you been through this? Any good experiences? I keep hearing of not-so-good experiences with tenants.

And to my local friends... do you know of a family looking for a house to rent?

All of this makes me just a bit nervous. I don't know what direction our economy is heading. Real estate used to be an investment, but now I see it as more of an expense. So why would we own TWO houses is an uncertain economy?... I'm open to comments on both sides.

7 comments:

Andy and Katie said...

I know a certain family of 6 that has 2 dogs that will need to rent something as their home is being built....shall I pass on your info? I guess it would be a short term lease though, vs a long 2 yr lease until you return to the Valley.

BTW....sorry, I have no leasing experiences...

Andrea Marsh said...

I know of a couple people that rented their homes. Once couple did it as an income thing, and they had alot of bad experiences, but it wasn't the greatest neighborhood so I don't know if it attracted the wrong people or what. My brother-in-law & sister-in-law rented their house because they couldn't sell it. Their experience was that bad. There was a problem with the dishwasher and something else that they kept having to sort-of-fix and they put off replacing it so it kept causing problems. The main problem you will run into is that since they will be renting, you are ultimately responsible for the house and anything that goes wrong with it. You will not be able to run to the house from MN to fix whatever it is, so you will need someone here to kind of be in charge of it for you. I would warn you to be careful about renting to someone you know-that can tend to be a messy situation. So, I really don't know what to tell you, yes or no. I would just recommend lots of prayer and if you're supposed to rent it, then God will allow everything to fall in place.

Andrea Marsh said...

I know of a couple people that rented their homes. Once couple did it as an income thing, and they had alot of bad experiences, but it wasn't the greatest neighborhood so I don't know if it attracted the wrong people or what. My brother-in-law & sister-in-law rented their house because they couldn't sell it. Their experience was that bad. There was a problem with the dishwasher and something else that they kept having to sort-of-fix and they put off replacing it so it kept causing problems. The main problem you will run into is that since they will be renting, you are ultimately responsible for the house and anything that goes wrong with it. You will not be able to run to the house from MN to fix whatever it is, so you will need someone here to kind of be in charge of it for you. I would warn you to be careful about renting to someone you know-that can tend to be a messy situation. So, I really don't know what to tell you, yes or no. I would just recommend lots of prayer and if you're supposed to rent it, then God will allow everything to fall in place.

Ami said...

I've not been in the situation, but I do know of several people in similar situations who have decided to rent. Wish I had wisdom, but I will offer prayers!

Sara P said...

i can't think of anyone one in need at the moment, but i will most definitely keep you guys in mind if i hear anything... i don't have any leasing experience either but i would have to agree with you about it my be easier to rent for that short of time, then you won't have to go through the trouble of sell the other house when your ready to move back. good luck with you choice:)

Jessica-MomForHim said...

Talk to Gina. They own and rent properties.

Angela said...

Hey Jennie- My Dad decided to keep his old house and rent it. Unfortunately, he ran into MAJOR problems. They never paid after the first month and turned out there was super shady stuff going on there. BUT- that being sad- it doesn't always have to be that way. AND, if you decide to sell right now, you cannot go back and change your mind and decide to rent. On the other hand, if you decide to try renting- the worst that can happen is that it does not work out and you decide to sell after giving it a try. But- who knows- it could also turn out well and you'd be glad you did it. The major advice I would give is to absolutely use an agent to manage the property. It may cost a little $$, BUT, it is well worth it. You don't have to hassle with finding people, and further more- if you find you are in a situation where you need to evict the tenants- the agent will deal with all of that. Thankfully my Dad had an agent so he didn't have to deal personally with getting the renters out which proved to be a nightmare.