A rental property can be a sound investment, giving you a little bit of income each month and the chance at a significant amount of money when you eventually sell the house. Generally, it makes sense to maintain ownership of the residence for as long as possible; if you have tenants who are basically paying your mortgage payments each month, it's highly desirable to maintain this scenario until the mortgage has been paid in full. However, there can often be signs that could suggest it's time to sell your rental property, and it's important to watch for these signs and act promptly. Here are some of these indicators.
You're Fed Up With Difficult Tenants
A few experiences with nightmare tenants can definitely make you want to sell your rental property. Although it's often ideal to try to find the best tenants possible, dealing with one poor tenant after another can run its course. For example, if your tenants aren't properly respecting the residence and you find that you're putting a lot of money into fixing up the house between tenants, you may be fed up with this situation. If your tenants are consistently increasing your stress level, which may be affecting various other areas of your life, you may be better off selling the property.
You're Moving Away
While you can certainly continue to own and rent out an investment property if you live in a different city or state, you might feel a degree of reluctance to do so. Maintaining ownership of your investment property from afar means that you may need to make frequent trips to the house's city to check on it or deal with tenants. Or, you may need to hire a trusted person in that city to manage the property. If these tasks feel too extensive for you, it's worthwhile to sell the property before you move out of town.
The Upkeep Is Too Much
Many people who own rental properties do so because they can do the work on the houses themselves. If you've previously done flooring, plumbing, and electrical work on your rental property but find that this work is becoming too much, it could be time to sell. For example, if you worked as a contractor and enjoyed doing this work but you're now approaching retirement age and you no longer have interest in this sort of rigorous labor, selling the property is often your best choice.
Share15 December 2016
Once I paid of the mortgage on my house, I decided I wanted to buy an investment property. I had no idea that the buying process would be different, but it really was. There were so many things to consider that I hadn't thought about, and even the loan application process was different. It occurred to me that if I didn't know about it, others likely didn't either. I built this site to help others see what I went through buying my first investment home. I hope that it helps you to approach the process with more confidence and understanding.
