In today's difficult real estate environment, many homeowners have been forced to become unintended property managers.  So often owners that for one reason or another can't sell their home before they move, feel compelled to rent their home rather than continue to try to sell it vacant.

Our FREE Staging Offer helps to eliminate the need to either sell your home vacant or put it up for rent because it's vacant.

Here are four typically unanticipated, yet significant, costs that can result from renting your former residence:

1. Insurance Cost Increases - Insurance to cover a rented property typically costs about 25% more than owner-occupied homeowner's insurance.  While your rental income might cover a portion of this, remember it's rare for you to always have a renter in place.  There will most certainly be times between tenants when the property is unoccupied.

2. Legal and Related Charges - Just basic legal expenses associated with identifying and qualifying potential tenets can easily add up to a few hundred dollars for each new tenet.  Don't forget about the potential costs of an eviction.  This could mean months without rental income and huge legal bills to meet the state and local eviction requirements, not to mention endless  frustration.

3. Higher Taxes - Don't forget that since the property is no longer your primary residence, you don't get to claim your homestead exemption on this property anymore.  So, the property taxes will go up.  And, one that you probably forgot about, you can easily lose your capital gains tax-exemption (on gains up to a $250,000) if you sell the property for a profit but haven't lived in it for at least 2 of the last 5 years.

4. Cleaning and Maintenance Expenses - With each new tenet, the property will need to be professionally cleaned and repaired.  This can also include new paint and carpet as well.  Just like when it's for sale, your property has to look good to attract new tenets.

Clearly we understand that individual situations can and do dictate any reasonable person's actions, but it's certainly worth considering these points and others when you decide what the best path forward is for you regarding the sale or rental of your vacant home.  We are here to help in any way we can.

Free Staging Offer
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