Rent out house or Sell? Military move

**Mamaof2rugrats** · 10-07-2010, 11:29 AM

We have about a year before my husband's next duty station which is likely to be Germany but we won't know til close to then. Our home is a late 90's manufactured home with a 2bedroom addition on an acre in a small town. Some of my family does live in the area so in theory we could have people check on the house if we rent it out but I'm a little paranoid about renting out our home living so far away. I don't want it trashed as we would like to come home in 10 yrs when he retires and live in it while we build a house in the country. What makes more sense? Selling it and pocketing the money- Our home is entirely paid off, although we wouldn't make any money on it really since we just pd it off in a lump sum, we would just put it back in the bank- or rent it out for a few hundred a mth ( the going rate in our rural area) and also risk it getting tore up, have to pay home owners ins,taxes,repairs.
What would yall do?

**itlw8** · 10-07-2010, 11:51 AM

FAR from an expert but if I had family that I could pay to manage it and could trust them remember they would need to handle repairs then I would rent it out but if the market is good in your area and you can sell it it would mean no worries while you are gone... renting could be plan B

**Greebo** · 10-07-2010, 12:13 PM

If you want to keep the house, hire a professional property manager. Do not involve family and friends if you want them to continue being family and friends.

If the house itself isn't all that important to you - sell it, buy again later.

**Mamaof2rugrats** · 10-07-2010, 12:20 PM

We were just thinking of the money we could possibly make renting it out for 10 years which could go into our house fund for our "forever house" although after repairs, taxes and ins I'm not sure it would be worth it.

**Russ** · 10-07-2010, 12:24 PM

Originally Posted by Greebo

Do not involve family and friends if you want them to continue being family and friends.

TOTALLY agree with this.

Family and business dealings DO NOT mix IMO.

**Greebo** · 10-07-2010, 12:39 PM

Originally Posted by Mamaof2rugrats

We were just thinking of the money we could possibly make renting it out for 10 years which could go into our house fund for our "forever house" although after repairs, taxes and ins I'm not sure it would be worth it.

Listen, if you consider this your forever house, then by all means get a Property Manager to at least give you some ideas as to how much rent you could get, etc.

You won't know if it's worth it if you just guess.

**happymomof4** · 10-07-2010, 01:10 PM

Have done military moves before. We sold our homes. To much of a hassle with renting them. I have a friend right now that is renting there home in Virginia. They are in Hawai(military move). The only reason they are renting is because they can't sell it. It has been on the market for over 1 yr. The are having all kinds of issues with the renters. They pay a management company to do everything for them.

Good luck. Germany is a wonderful place to live.

**ddmartin** · 10-07-2010, 03:48 PM

Since you don't really want to live in the house long term but do want to live in the area, I would consider renting it - with the services of a property manager who has references.

Tried renting a house one time on my own, from 500 miles away, and was burnt badly.

**Josephhgoins** · 10-07-2010, 05:06 PM

I have a trailer on a acre and half plot about 3 hours from where I live now. I bought it in 07 (cash) and lived in it until last year when life brought me here.

At first I was happy to let it sit and have a place to fo on weekends and holidays, but that quickly grew expensive and tiring. I tried to find a property manager, but there were none in the area.

I rent it out now and my Mom takes care of the rent for me. Some months I get the rent money other months she looses her way to the bank.

I keep doing the math different ways and even with my mom pocketing a good portion of the money, I still make far more on rent than if I would have sold it and put the money in the bank.

It is however a constant source of aggrevation. My plan is to move out next year when my lease comes do. Before I move I will sell the trailer and use the money for a down payment on a house here.

If you really need the money, keep it and rent it and realize its going to be a pain in the butt. A pretty regular pain in the butt.

If it is anyway possible you can make due without the extra income, sell it, lock the money away in cd's or something and use the money to actually pay for the house in the country when you return.

Good luck!

**frugalfranny** · 10-08-2010, 01:21 AM

Another thing I would do --while making up your mind.......talk to some other landlords IN YOUR AREA.......even go to a rental complex and talk to the managers there.

Find out about your rental market..........part of that will depend on the housing market/money/employment/etc. And by that I don't mean what you could get for rent........find out what type of problems they have been having. Our rental market here has gotten really tough......and there are some serious horror stories out there. People are cramming more people into rentals to share the cost.

The thing Russ and Greebo said about family is usually true.......but think about the relationships you have.

I was lucky and while I was moving around the west my cousin lived here and 'managed' my rental. She was able (and did) call me on everything..........you won't have that option. I had an established list of workers that I used and left it with her.....you also won't have that. I also paid her for everything she did. The rents were sent to me (so I knew if they were late or not and dealt with that myself) but her name was on my checking acct. In short..........a LOT OF DETAILS to work out if family will be doing it.......a management co. already has their list of workers, etc.

Good luck...........

**wanderlusting** · 10-08-2010, 08:54 AM

Coming from a military wife (and currently in Germany!) I'd try to sell it if you don't want it to be your forever home. Being over here, if things go wrong, it'll be aggravating to get things done with the time difference and not being in the same area as your house.

I agree with everyone else- don't have your family take care of the house. Hire a professional. If things get sticky, you don't want to get into a fight with a family member.

If I were the renter, I'd much rather have a professional rental management company to deal with than the landlord's family.

I just realized you wrote you have a manufactured home. I would try to sell it. They lose value very quickly. You might as well try to get more money with it being "newer" rather than later on down the line when it's old.

**Nishu** · 10-17-2010, 07:10 PM

A manufactured home? Are you talking about this type--

I'm going to preface this with my "I'm no expert" disclaimer, but these types of homes depreciate quickly and typically do not stand up to abuse. There is absolutely, positively, no way that I would risk renting a home like this if I expected it to maintain any value at all.

Plus all the other stuff that people said. I would sell it.

**Greebo** · 10-18-2010, 09:34 AM

This is an example of a manufactured home:

A "manufactured" home is one that is constructed (in part at least) elsewhere and delivered to the site. This can be a "mobile home" which is what Nishu showed, and which *do* lose value super fast, or a very nice end product like this that is a real house.

**gmarie** · 10-18-2010, 09:50 AM

I think what you are referring to is a modular home.

Definition: Modular homes are homes built in modules at a factory. Modules are transported to the home site on flat bed trucks. Unlike manufactured homes, modulars conform to all state, local and regional codes where the home is to be located.

Modular homes, unlike manufactured homes, do not rest on a steel chassis. Instead, modular homes are assembled on a fixed foundation. Modular homes must conform to local building codes.