Relocating from Houston: Should You Rent or Sell Your Home?

Today we are talking about what you should do when you relocate out of Houston. Should you rent or sell your property? With all the business in Houston, lots of people are moving in and out of the city. First, don’t get into a bad situation. If you need money to move, even if it’s less than you bought the house for, you should sell the property right away and get whatever cash you can. Then, you won’t have the liability.

Other people see the advantages of having an investment property, but they are scared to have a long distance renter. That’s a big concern. Right now, Houston is one of the top investment cities in the country. There are a lot of investors here. I always tell people that my first choice is to wait. Right now the market is going up and prices are going up. Four out of ten people rent. The remaining six out of ten are landlords. You will probably make money in this market if you have the right strategy in place.

If you are going to lease your property, the best thing you can do is to not do it long distance. Make sure you work with a professional property manager with a great team in place. You want to hold someone accountable and you want to be able to call and find out what’s being done. A property manager will ensure that your house is being taken care of. It’s an inexpensive investment with a lot of money at stake.

Some people become accidental landlords who end up with a property they didn’t expect. It’s still a business and you need to treat it as such. Even if you didn’t expect to have this property, you have tax and legal obligations that need attention. You must pay attention to fair housing laws and avoid discrimination. Being a landlord requires you to be knowledgeable about all these things. If you aren’t up on all the current laws, use a property manager who knows those laws.