“Should we sell our current house or keep it?”
I have had that conversation with plenty of clients.
Now I am having it at home.
My husband is officially one of my clients, which adds a whole new level of accountability to this particular real estate decision.
Our situation is probably familiar to a lot of Dallas Fort Worth homeowners.
We have equity in our house.
We have a 2.5 percent mortgage rate.
We have another chapter ahead of us.
And we have a home that means a lot to our family.
This is where a seemingly simple real estate question gets complicated.
Because deciding whether to sell or rent your DFW home involves much more than looking at your current mortgage rate.
Keeping a house just because you have a low interest rate does not automatically make sense.
Selling it just because you are moving does not automatically make sense either.
And I am not going to pretend that I am the professional who should answer every part of that decision.
I am a Realtor. My expertise is real estate.
When questions involve financing, taxes, insurance, legal matters, or investment strategy, I refer my clients to the appropriate qualified professional.
My job is to help evaluate the real estate information and recognize which questions need to be answered before a decision is made.
And yes, I am applying that same process to my own house.
Why Is It So Hard to Decide What to Do With Your Current Home?
Because a house can be several things at once.
It can represent a significant amount of equity.
It can potentially become a DFW rental property.
And it can also be the place where you lived a large part of your life.
Our house is where we brought four babies home from the hospital.
It is where we said goodbye to a family dog.
It holds years of ordinary days and major milestones.
That does not tell us whether we should sell it or keep it.
But pretending those emotions do not exist would not make the decision more thoughtful either.
For me, the goal is not to remove emotion from the conversation.
It is to make sure emotion is not the only information we use.
Should You Sell Your Current Home When You Move?
Selling is one option.
If a client is considering selling a home in DFW, I want to evaluate the house as a potential listing.
What does current real estate data tell us?
What properties would we compete against?
What has recently sold?
What preparation might make sense before listing?
How is the property positioned relative to current competition?
What does current inventory look like?
How are similar properties performing?
Those are questions I can help answer.
Then we identify questions that belong with other professionals.
If you need to understand the potential tax consequences of selling, I want you talking with a CPA or qualified tax professional.
If proceeds from the sale affect financing for your next purchase, I want your lender involved.
I provide the real estate information.
Other professionals provide guidance within their areas of expertise.
Then you decide what makes sense for you.
Should You Make Improvements Before Selling?
Maybe.
But I do not automatically recommend renovating a house before putting it on the market.
I want to see the property first.
Sometimes there are relatively simple preparation items that may help a property present or compete more effectively.
Other times, I may tell a seller that I would not spend the money.
We look at the house.
The current competition.
Buyer expectations.
The seller’s timeline.
And the current DFW housing market relevant to that property.
Then I explain the real estate reasoning behind my recommendation.
I cannot promise that spending a particular amount will produce a particular return.
Not every project needs to be done just because you are selling.
Please call me before you start writing checks.
Should You Keep Your Current Home and Rent It?
This is where I want homeowners to slow down.
A low mortgage rate can make the idea of keeping your home as a rental feel immediately attractive.
I understand why.
We have a 2.5 percent rate on our own house.
That gets my attention too.
But an interest rate alone does not answer the question.
If keeping the home as a rental is something you are seriously considering, we can start with real estate information.
What does the DFW rental market look like?
What are comparable properties being offered for?
What is happening in your current housing market?
How might the property compare with other rental options?
How would keeping the property affect the timing of your next real estate move?
Then we identify the questions that need to go elsewhere.
What does your lender need you to understand if you are purchasing another home?
What insurance coverage would be appropriate if the property is no longer your primary residence?
What tax considerations should you understand before converting a personal residence to rental use?
Are there legal questions associated with becoming a landlord?
Would you want to manage the property yourself or speak with a qualified property manager?
I do not answer those questions outside my expertise.
I make sure my clients know they are questions worth asking.
Does Your Low Mortgage Rate Mean You Should Keep the House?
No.
It means you have an important piece of information to consider.
That is different.
A low mortgage rate on a rental property may be one reason a homeowner wants to explore keeping the property.
But it does not tell us whether renting the house makes sense for that homeowner.
Maybe keeping it ultimately makes sense.
Maybe selling does.
Maybe the information you receive from your lender, CPA, insurance professional, attorney, or property manager changes how you look at the decision.
The point is that one attractive number should not make the entire decision.
That applies to my house too.
What About Taxes If You Turn Your Current Home Into a Rental?
This is something I want homeowners to be aware of without trying to advise them on the answer.
Converting a primary residence to a rental can introduce tax considerations that were not part of the picture while you were living in the home.
Federal tax rules address issues such as rental income, expenses, depreciation, and the treatment of property converted from personal use to rental use.
A later sale can introduce additional questions.
Exactly how those rules apply depends on the homeowner’s individual circumstances.
That is where I refer my clients to a CPA or qualified tax professional.
I am not going to calculate the tax consequences or tell someone whether renting is the better financial choice.
I simply do not want a homeowner making the decision to keep a house without realizing there may be tax questions worth discussing first.
That is an important distinction.
What If You Are Emotionally Attached to the House?
Then say it.
I am.
A house can be emotionally significant without emotion making the final decision.
Sometimes homeowners feel like selling means closing a chapter they are not quite ready to close.
Sometimes keeping the house feels comforting because the decision does not feel as permanent.
Those feelings are real.
But I still want to put information beside them.
What does selling look like?
What does the current rental market look like?
What responsibilities could come with keeping it?
What information do you still need from other professionals?
What does each option mean for your next real estate move?
Once we understand those things, the decision may become clearer.
Or it may still be difficult.
That is okay too.
Should You Sell Your Home Before Buying the Next One?
There is no universal answer.
Some homeowners need or want to sell before buying their next home.
Some may have financing options that allow them to purchase before selling.
Some may consider keeping the existing property as a rental.
That conversation needs to include a lender because financing is outside my expertise.
Once we understand what the lender says about the client’s financing options, I can help evaluate the real estate logistics.
What would selling first look like?
Could the timelines overlap?
What is happening in each real estate market?
How could we coordinate the sale and purchase?
What would keeping the existing property mean for the next move from a real estate standpoint?
I coordinate the real estate pieces.
The lender handles financing.
What Should You Compare Before Deciding to Sell or Rent Your DFW Home?
Before making the decision, I want homeowners to compare the real estate side of both options.
If you sell:
What might the property compete against?
What preparation might be needed?
What does current market activity look like?
How does the property compare with recent sales?
What timing considerations matter?
If you keep it:
What does the relevant rental market look like?
What are comparable rental properties asking?
Would you manage the property yourself?
How might keeping the property affect your next real estate move?
Then there are the questions outside my professional role.
Financing.
Taxes.
Insurance.
Legal obligations.
Property management.
Investment strategy.
Those questions deserve answers from the professionals qualified to provide them.
That gives you a much stronger foundation for deciding whether to sell or rent your DFW home.
What Are We Doing With Our House?
We have not made the final decision yet.
And I am comfortable saying that publicly.
We are gathering information.
We are looking at the real estate.
We are considering what this house means to us.
And we are asking the questions that belong with professionals outside my expertise.
I would take the same approach with a client.
I am not there to make the decision for them.
I am there to help them understand the real estate information, identify questions that still need answers, and connect the appropriate professionals to the conversation when needed.
What My Clients Say
Marilyne Chapman shared:
“I loved working with Ashley. She is a good listener and knows what you need. Her care for her clients is amazing and she always delivers. I would highly recommend and trust her with anyone that wants a Realtor of top quality.”
Listening matters tremendously in conversations like this.
If you call me and ask whether you should sell or keep your house, I do not want to answer before I understand why you are asking.
Trying to Decide Whether to Sell or Rent Your DFW Home?
Call me before you decide.
We can start with the real estate.
I can help you evaluate the property as a potential sale, look at current market conditions, discuss preparation and positioning, and review relevant DFW rental market information if keeping the property is something you are considering.
Then we identify what you still need to know.
Financing questions go to your lender.
Tax questions go to your CPA or qualified tax professional.
Insurance questions go to your insurance professional.
Legal questions go to an attorney.
Property-management questions can go to a qualified property manager.
I do not need to step outside my expertise to help you.
Part of good real estate representation is recognizing when another professional belongs in the conversation.
That is how I advise my clients.
And it is exactly how I am approaching my own house.
Visit HART Realty Team or connect with me at @AshleyHartRealtor.
