For owners deciding
Should I rent or sell my house?
Most people asking this inherited a property, moved for work, or are carrying a home they no longer live in. There is no general answer — it turns on achievable rent, what the property actually costs to hold, and what it would net if you sold today. Send the details and you will get both paths side by side, in writing.
Why you will not get an instant answer on this page
A calculator that tells you to rent would be worth exactly what you paid for it — and you should be skeptical of any property manager whose website hands you that answer for free. This analysis is done by hand and shows both paths with real numbers, including what each one pays this firm. You are given the comparison and you make the decision.
What the analysis actually weighs
Achievable market rent
Not the asking rents you see online — what comparable units in this specific submarket have actually leased for, and how long they sat.
True carrying cost
Mortgage, taxes, insurance, HOA, maintenance reserve, management, vacancy allowance, and the capital expenditures the property is due for. This is where most owners' math is wrong.
Likely sale price and net proceeds
What it would realistically sell for today, less costs of sale, so you are comparing a real number to a real number.
Your tax position
Basis, depreciation, the capital-gains exclusion and its clock, and whether a 1031 exchange is even relevant. Flagged for your CPA — not tax advice.
Condition and what it needs
A rental-ready standard and a sale-ready standard are different, and so are their costs.
Your time horizon and appetite
Holding a property is a job you are hiring someone to do. Some owners want the asset; some want to be finished.
How this works
You send the property details
Address, condition, what you owe, and what you are trying to accomplish. Five minutes.
The analysis gets built
Rent comps, carrying costs, sale comps, and estimated net proceeds — both paths, in writing, usually within three business days.
We review it together
A short call to walk through the numbers and the assumptions behind them. You are under no obligation to do either thing.
Request a rent vs. sale analysis
Everything below helps, but address and rough condition are enough to start.
Questions people ask before they decide
- I inherited a condo. Is it better to rent it out or sell it?
- It depends on three numbers: what it would rent for, what it actually costs you to hold each month, and what you would net from a sale after costs. Inherited property also usually receives a stepped-up cost basis, which can make selling soon after inheriting far more tax-efficient than owners expect — worth confirming with your CPA before you decide. A written analysis puts all of it side by side.
- How do I know what my house would actually rent for?
- Not from the asking rents on listing sites, which show what landlords hoped for rather than what tenants paid. Achievable rent comes from comparable units that actually leased recently in the same submarket, adjusted for condition, and it accounts for how long they sat vacant first.
- What does it really cost to hold a rental property?
- Mortgage, property taxes, insurance, HOA dues, a maintenance reserve, management, a vacancy allowance, and whatever capital expenditure the property is due for — roof, systems, exterior. Owners typically remember the first three and forget the rest, which is why a property that looks cash-flow positive on paper often is not.
- Do I lose the capital-gains exclusion if I rent my house out first?
- Possibly. The primary-residence exclusion generally requires having lived in the home for two of the last five years, so renting it out starts a clock. Depreciation taken while it is a rental is also treated differently on sale. This is genuinely a question for your CPA, and it is one of the most expensive things to get wrong.
- Can you help either way, or only if I rent it?
- Either way — and the analysis states plainly what each path pays this firm, so you can weigh the recommendation accordingly.