Discussions

Researching pros and cons to renting bs selling my home. Moving in with boyfriend and thinking about renting but want to know pros and cons?

Sell it unless you can find good tenants that pay the rent and utilities on time. All the rent you collect gets added to your income , therefore you always owe come tax time. Sometimes you tenants destroy your house and all you have is half a months rent to cover damages. I have rentals and it’s more of a headache then its worth sometimes. If all the stars aligned and all went well for the next 25 years you might see some return on your investment. Just my opinion.

I have heard so many nightmare stories. Friends of mine rented out a home and the house was destroyed, tenant never paid rent and it took months to get them evicted. Seems there are so many laws that usually side with the tenant. At the end of the day, if the tenants don’t pay the rent you are still on the hook for the mortgage. Make sure you do your research before hand, but in my opinion, not worth the headache.

But you'll have to look at your expenses, possible deductions (repairs, property taxes, house insurance, mortgage interest) as far as tax timeis concerned. How long have you had the house? Will you make money if you sell now? What are the fees for getting out of your mortgage early?  
 
Is the house in brandon? How much is your mortgage and other costs added together? Can you charge enough in rent to cover your costs or is the market lower than that?

Too many headaches renting! You never know what kind of tenants you will get. Houses get destroyed, people skip out on their bills, drug dealers set up their businesses, they invite everyone in to drink and party and possibility of bed bugs because of letting anyone crash there.  
How do I know? It's happened in my 'hood'!! Be nice to your neighbours and sell your house rather than renting it.

Looks like u may have a decent prospect.  
Now this is just my opinion  
Get a conditions report from Tenacy Act, and a lease form and anything else they offer.  
Go thro the whole house with them, filling out the conditions report.  
Make additions rules on paper, if u think of any.  
 
Done this with every rental I've owned. Had more decent tenants than bad.  
 
But getting the odd bad tenant makes one appreciate the good ones.  
Good luck and be careful, go with gut feeling and woman's intervistion(sp)

Seems Kat and Liam will rent it. Sounds good and will give you a chance to think about it til they decide to buy. I hope it works out for all of you.

Most tenants sound great , I’d advise don’t take their work do your background checks ...

It is a very difficult decision to make. Big step to move in with the boyfriend. How is the relationship ? Any issues? Will this be something you can see long term? If things don't work out do you have a back up plan? Would you find another decent place to live? Can you replace your current house with something similar again? At least if you rent to Kat and Liam you still own . Do either you or your boyfriend have children? How will this effect them?

As a landlord on 2 properties for last 10+ years-I would say you think long and hard before renting a home. I have had some great tenants over the years but I have had some really bad ones. People think landlords get rich off of renting but lots don’t realize that each month we pay land tax, house insurance, and some pay utilities.. I’ve done upgrades (new windows, new furnace, shingles,replaced appliances)—this eats up what profit a person makes. The few bad tenants I have had over the years have cost me upwards of $3000 each time for fixups. Plus it is considered income and really can play havoc at income tax time. Make sure and do your homework.

We did this exact scenario. Rented out instead of selling. Renters make big promises that don't pan out. The tenancy board is not there to help you as a land lord. Yes you get some tax write off renting out but if you ever have to sell later on you will be responsible for a lot of costs to the renter.

Just make sure you're renting that house out for the right reasons. Caring123, why do you think keeping the property and having someone else living in it would be a good idea? ...For extra income/investment purposes? ...A "life boat" to return to, or fall back on if your relationship goes sour? ... Maybe feeling sentimental about it? All three could be good reasons, but don't forget the negatives as mentioned already by others.  
As an investment, it looks good on paper and appears easy for someone to do. But it's work. Never forget that. The money scale is set for a long term plan of investment, the get rich fast scheme isn't there. You've got to have an instinctive intuition on reading people. Plus, you need to be handy with repairs, assertive with personalities conflicting with your expectations and to be available at all times. Renting sounds like easy money and appears effortless for some. It can be with the right experiences and knowledge, for a time... But there will be setbacks with extra costs and definite losses that will be out of your control.  
The "fallback or life boat" plan? Can't easily happen. When there is a tenant occupying the property, things will get complicated if you wish to return to property to live there once again. Evictions get costly, people get angry and you will always get screwed over by both the procedures of the Tenancy Branch and the tenant(s). Another factor to consider is your "common-law relationship" with the boyfriend. As time rolls forward to become long termed and if it can proven that he supported the rental venture with effort and money, he could be entitled some rights to the property. Even if the property is fully in your name, if he proves that he helped renovate or purchased material, he could seek compensation for his/her part.  
The sentimental part is the saddest of all reasons. Once someone starts living in it, things will change. The memories get tainted by the actions from having others placing their marks in it or on it and those special feelings for the property will disappear. My feelings changed after I rented out my parents house. It was bitter for me to watch it degrade, because tenants won't ever appreciate the property the way I did... And it will hurt to watch it happen right before your eyes. Trust me, tenants don't care because they don't have to care. Often it's gets classified as wear & tear or factored as results from tenants living. Somehow things that you've had lasted for years can't hold up for a few months as a rental. ...You know it's abuse, but you can't call it abuse. And that will sting both financially and mentally. Nothing will ever top experiencing something like walking into a place that you once put your heart and soul into and smelling cat pi$$ or every wall damaged/marked up or the appliances buggered up or nothing cleaned or the carpets have cig burns (even with a no smoking rule) . It will break your spirit.  
Fair warning to Caring123, renting out your house will have pitfalls. So, the question is to yourself isn't should you rent it out? But, can you handle all that could come your way as a landlord?  
 
Just my opinion, I could be wrong.  
 
Edited by snowman5, 2020-06-11 14:37:13

There are other professionals out there who aren’t interested in owning for the time being, including my partner and I. We are on the market for a house to rent but tend to be picky so still looking, otherwise happy to stay where we are, we just need something bigger eventually. Our budget is upwards of $1800+ if it has everything we want. You can pm me if you like.

Still looking. Hopefully in the Meadows or Linden lanes neighbourhood.