Guide
Rent it or sell it?
If you're moving, you can rent the house out or sell it. Put in your own numbers below and see what each one leaves you with.
Your numbers
Empty boxes use the grey example numbers. Renting year one assumes one new lease and the empty months you entered. Your mortgage principal paid down while renting builds equity and isn't counted here. Other fees from the pricing page are not included.
The questions that usually decide it
Does the rent cover the costs?
If the rent, after management, repairs and an empty month or two, covers your mortgage, tax, insurance and HOA, renting can pay for itself while the house keeps its value. If it doesn't, you're paying every month to keep it.
Will you come back?
Owners on a work move who expect to return often rent. Selling and buying again later costs money both ways.
Taxes on the sale
If you owned the home and lived in it as your main home for at least two of the five years before you sell, federal law lets you leave up to $250,000 of gain ($500,000 for most married couples filing jointly) out of your income. If you lived there exactly two years, you have three years after moving out to sell and keep that; more time lived there gives you more room. If you rent it first, the depreciation you took (or could have taken) is taxed when you sell, at up to 25%, even when the rest of the gain is tax-free. If you now live in another state, North Carolina can still tax the rent and the gain as nonresident income. Check your own case with a tax adviser before you decide.
Can you be a landlord from where you are?
Someone has to answer the tenant, handle repairs and keep records. That can be you, or a manager. Our pricing page shows what that costs in full.