Considering Renting Out Your Home?
A lot of our clients are looking to rent their current homes in order to move, so if you’re considering this you’re definitely not alone! People typically wish to do this for a variety of reasons, one of which being that maybe they’d be struggling to sell their home for the price that they’d need – this is especially common if you bought when prices were high a few years ago. Renting is a really great alternative to selling, and there is a big market of families wishing to rent everywhere from small condos to large single-family homes…in other words, it’s pretty likely that you’ll find tenants.
The market for tenants will really open up if you consider flexible lease agreements – maybe by allowing 3 or 6 months instead of the usual 12 months, or by allowing pets. Allowing dogs or cats is one of the biggest and easiest ways to open up a huge market of renters. We typically encourage that you request a non-refundable deposit and maybe an extra $25 or $50 per month for the pets.
One of the best things about renting is that many mortgage companies will use the rental fee in your signed lease agreement toward your debt to income ratio. In other words, by renting your home instead of leaving it vacant, they’ll allow you a bit more flexibility in purchase price with your new home. Since everybody’s situation is a bit different, we recommend that you speak with your lender about your individual situation, but we have had client have a lot of luck with this in the past.
If you’ve never rented out your home before, it’s not a bad idea to use an EveryHome agent to assist you. We’ll give you an idea of a fair rental price, market your home for rent, find tenants and provide them with tours, process applications, and assist you with the lease agreement. The typical fee is one month’s rent for these services. If you’re interested in learning a bit more, feel free to reach out to us. We’d love to meet you and see your home – no obligation—just give us a call at 215 699 5555