Why You Shouldn’t Rent your Home

When it comes time to move, you may be wondering whether you should sell your home or rent it out. More and more people are talking about the importance of being financially stable, and one way to do that is by investing in real estate. 

That being said, being a landlord isn't for everyone. There are times when it is much better to sell your home and walk away. 

Here are some reasons why you shouldn't rent your home and just sell it instead.

There is freedom when you sell your home. It can be overwhelming to own more than one home. This is a significant amount of debt, which can be quite stressful for many people. 

The maintenance can also take a lot of time, and it may not be feasible, especially if the homes are not close. Though you may be able to schedule a day to do some of the work on the home, you also need to think about emergencies. Your tenants may call you any time of day in order to fix something that isn't working properly. 

You may not be able to afford to buy a second home. The truth is that most people can't get two mortgages. You will need to come up with a down payment in order to get a second mortgage. If you are maxed out with your first home, that is going to be impossible. 

For this reason, most people need to sell their first home in order to buy their new home. They simply can't afford to get another mortgage. The bank will not give them the loan! 

You may find out that you are losing money on your home. Though many people think of real estate as being a good investment, there are times when holding onto your home could end up costing you more money! If the market is high, it might be the perfect time to get out of your home! You shouldn't wait, because if it drops, you may end up losing money on your investment. 

You can't make any money renting your home. There are times when people get in over their heads when it comes to their mortgages. There is no way that they can make enough in rent to cover the cost of the mortgage. 

When you add in other fees that you may have, like insurance, taxes, repairs, and other expenses, and you might end up paying your tenants to live there. You need to make sure that you can make enough money to pay your expenses, or it simply isn't worth it. 

Being a landlord can be a lot of work. Not only are you going to have to make sure that your tenant is paying the bills and the rent on time, but you are going to have to do the maintenance on the home. If something breaks, it is up to you to fix it (or find someone who can do the repairs). This can be quite stressful, and the job is not for everyone.

It can be hard to rent a home if you move away. It can be really hard to be a landlord if you aren't living close to the home. If you end up relocating, you may not be up for the challenge. You are going to have to call people to do the maintenance and fixing any problems that may occur. You won't be able to do them yourself. 

Renting out your home is not for everyone. In fact, many people can't afford to even think about this option. They need the money from the sale of their first home so that they can buy their new home. Even if they did try to rent it out, they might not be able to make enough money to even cover the monthly mortgage payment.

Another reason to sell your home is so that you don't have to be a landlord. It can be stressful to have to maintain a home that you don't live in. Things are going to break, and tenants are going to mess your home up. Most people can't handle it. It is even harder when you don't live nearby. If you are several states away, you can't just drop everything to see what is going on when something breaks. You are going to have to trust your tenant and your repair people since you can't see it for yourself.

Most people are much better off selling their homes instead of trying to rent them out!

Prevously published on Medium and/or Newsbreak.