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PCS Season: To Rent or Sell Your Home?

When you receive orders, should you rent out your home or sell it?

Brian Williams
by Brian Williams
April 23, 2018
PCS Season: To Rent or Sell Your Home?
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PCS season is on the horizon and thousands of military families are being alerted to orders to their next home. But once that relocation checklist is in hand, there are so many decisions to make about housing, including what to do with your current dwelling.

By the time  you  get  your  orders,  you  may  have  a  lot  of  time  to  try  and  sell  your  home,  or  just  a  few  weeks—it’s  the  nature  of  the  beast. When  you’re  short  on  time,  should  you  try  and  sell  your  house  or  rent  it  out?  It  depends  on  your  situation,  and  the  real  estate  market  in  your  area.  For  many,  it  makes  more  sense  to  rent  out  their  homes  —  they  can  build  equity  in  the  house  while  the  military  takes  you  anywhere  and  everywhere,  and  you  never  know  if  you  may  move  back  to  the  same  duty  station.

If  you’ve  never  rented  out  your  home  before,  here  are  a  few  tips  to  help  you  get  started:

Marketing

While  many  real  estate  companies  offer  rental  services  to  help  rent  out  your  home  —  usually  charging  about  half  of  your  first  month’s  rent  —  there  are  other,  cheaper  ways  to  market  your  home  yourself.  Sites  including militarybyowner.com, zillow.com and rentals.com offer  relatively  inexpensive  ways  to  show  your  house  to  the  most  available  eyes.  We  rented  out  our  military  homes  over  the  years  with  little  problem  using  these  sites,  which  offer  you  the  chance  to  upload  photos  and  personal  descriptions  of  your  house.

And  don’t  forget  about  the  DoD’s  Automated  Housing  Referral Network. It  offers  the  service  for  free!  And  while  you  can  rent  out  your  home  to  anyone,  we  have  enjoyed  the  added  peace  of  mind  in  renting  out  to  military  personnel  over  the  years  —  you  seem  to  understand  each  other,  and  there  is  more  recourse  if  things  go  sour.

Management

To  be  honest,  we  have  had  much  better  luck  with  our  renters  than  with  our  property  management  over  the  years.  But  if  you  are  trying  to  lease  out  your  place  from  afar,  or  if  you  just  feel  better  having  a  management  company  oversee  everything,  be  sure  to  get  references  and  CHECK  THEM  OUT.  And  try  to  find  a  company  that  is  used  to  dealing  with  military  owners  and  renters  so  your  rental  agreement  will  benefit  both  parties.  Property management services  can  cost  a  certain  percentage  of  the  monthly  rental  amount  or  a  set  fee  (usually  about  $100-200  a  month).

Very  important:  get  EVERYTHING  in  writing.  If  you  want  the  tenants  to  water  and  mow  the  lawn  a  set  number  of  times  per  month,  put  it  in  writing.    A  better  thing  to  do  is  to  hire  a  lawn  service  and  “include”  the  cost  in  the  rental  amount.  That  way,  you  know  it  is  being  cared  for  properly  and  many  times,  your  renters  are  happy  to  not  have  the  extra  work,  so  it  can  be  a  good  marketing  tool.

Do it yourself

On  our  last  rental,  we  did  everything  ourselves—you  can  find  and  download  legal  rental  agreements  to  use  on  sites, including Zillow. Do  have  a  set  amount  for  maintenance—$50-75—under  which  the  tenant  is  responsible  for  routine  maintenance  such  as  changing  light  bulbs  or  air  filters.    If  you  need  to  make  any  repairs  while  tenants  are  living  there,  be  sure  to  keep  the  receipts  —  you  can  deduct  such  expenses  from  your  taxes!

Also,  decide  if  you  will  allow  pets  and  if  so,  what  kind.  Pet  deposits  usually  range  from  $100  up  to  $500,  and  can  be  cumulative  or  per  pet.    Make  sure  to  get  the  type  and  ages  of  each  pet  living  in  the  household.  This  protects  you  from  your  tenants  deciding  to  add  a  new  puppy  or  two  to  their  family  while  living  in  your  house.

How  to  set  your  price?  One  good  way  is  to  take  a  look  at  your  local  BAH  rates  and  the  going  rate  for  renting  a  home  similar  to  yours.  You  can  check  out  the  rental  sites  and  see  what  others  are  asking.

You  also  can  price  your  house  competitively  by  asking  about  $50-100  less  per  month  than  similar  homes.  Your  home  will  appear  in  more  searches, which  are  usually  narrowed  by  asking  price). The  more  eyes  that  see  your  home,  the  quicker  you  will  rent  it.

One  final  thought:

Be  sure  to  put  some  money  aside  to  cover  unexpected  expenses (New  furnace?  Busted  pipe?). Plus, make sure to save a month or two of your mortgage payment in case it takes long to find your next tenant. Renting  out  your  home  can  seem  more  intimidating  than  it  needs  to  be.  With  the  right  research  and  frame  of  mind,  you  can  have  a  pleasant  landlord  experience.

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Brian Williams

Brian Williams

R. Brian Williams retired after 30 years in the U.S. Army, both on active duty and in the AGR program as a member of the Alabama National Guard, working at NORTHCOM, JDOMS and the U.S. Army War College. He is currently enjoying retired life, but misses his time in uniform.

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