Should I Sell My House Or Rent It

If you’re not sure whether to sell or rent your home then this article should provide some guidance on the selling and renting process.

In this guide we will cover:

• The pros and cons of selling and renting
• Some of the longer term commitments that come with renting
• The finances involved in selling and renting
• How to decide whether to sell or rent your home

The selling process: pros and cons

The selling process, in theory would be a short to medium term process.

This can be a benefit to selling – once the house is sold, the contracts are signed then you hand over the keys and your work is done!

Of course, it’s not quite that simple. The downsides of selling can include the length of time it can take to sell. The time it takes to complete the selling process depends on a multitude of factors like where your property is located, the housing market at the time of sale, the overall condition of the home, how quickly you can sort paperwork required to sell a home and the way in which you choose to sell – traditional estate agents, online estate agents, auctions, fast house buyers or other.

The average time to sell a house traditionally is 3-4 months. Generally speaking houses in good condition aesthetically sell faster. The more time you put into decluttering and adding value to the home the more likely you are to have a fast house sale.

Choosing to sell before there’s any equity in the home could leave you out of pocket and once you’ve sold the house you won’t have that asset or a place to return to. This can be a downside to those who are moving overseas and plan to return.

The renting process: pros and cons

The chances are that if you’re going to rent your home then you will need to make some changes. There are a lot of rules and regulations when it comes to renting a home in the U.K. and you’ll likely need some professional support along the way. The government offers some guidance on renting and becoming a landlord.

The pros to renting a home are obvious – it enables you to keep your asset, you can get tenants in who pay the rent and this should, in theory, cover the rent and any other charges and maintenance costs.

Landlords earn a passive income and those who manage to secure good tenants own property that is well looked after and the home is securing capital growth!

For landlords it’s important to consider the long-term commitments that come with renting and of course you need to do your research to ensure that rent can cover (and exceed) the costs associated. There’s no point in renting if you will be out of pocket.