The Trend of Renting While Selling

Hello, I hope you had a fabulous weekend. I spent my my weekend looking for a new rental property, as I am planning on moving next month. I have noticed through potential clients or agents that I have worked with that many people have had their home on the market for some time and are starting to decide to rent it while they are trying to sell it to bring in income. As I was house hunting for rentals myself, I was rather astounded by the number of homes that are in this type of situation.

While I completely understand the desire to bring in monthly income, and the stress of carrying costs that a vacant home can put on you, I do not advise this tactic! If you really want to sell your house, this is not the way to go. You hear about staging and de-personalizing and creating warmth and emphasizing space... showing rooms as their normal function, keeping things sparkly clean, eliminating odors, and doing everything you can to give your home "model-home" qualities. These techniques are not just for fun... there are specific reasons for them and they are proven to make your home more attractive to buyers.

When you rent your house, you are throwing all of that down the drain. You cannot control what your renters do, what their furniture looks like, their style is, how tidy they are, how they use the space, or what condition they turn your house into. You do not have any control over the condition the house is in when it has a showing... Do you see where I'm going with this?

You may think it doesn't matter, buyers will understand it is rented, and will be able to see beyond the renter's belongings and the state the property is in. Maybe this could happen, but 9 out of 10 times, that is not going to be the case. If you believe you have to rent it because of the "economy" and the "current market" in real estate... that is understandable. I would recommend going all the way with your decision though and rent it. Take it off the market. Then when you are ready to put it back on the market, you should stop renting it, fix it up, and properly prepare it for sale so it is show ready, 24/7!

Want to do something to help keep your home from just sitting there as an alternative to renting while selling? Try making changes that will make your house MORE marketable and will help it sell faster. Do your research, talk to a home stager in your area, talk to your agent... once you make some changes, then stir up some interest. Do something new, tell everyone to come back and take a second look and see the difference you have made. I hope this helps... please feel free to share comments or ask questions!