Allen Markel, REALTOR® · Texas Premier Realty

Selling

Sell or rent

List it now or lease it for a few years and sell later? The walk-away each way, with the rental's cash flow counted.

5% is about 2½ weeks empty a year.

As a rental — the homestead exemption ends when you move out.

0 if you manage it.

An assumption.

Rent it for how long, then sell?

3 years

Starts at the local figure below. Edit it — negative means falling.

+0.8% a year — Harris County figure, based on the last 12 and 24 months of resale home sales in Harris County (32,886 resales in the last 12 months). The last 12 months: +0.4%; the last 24 months: +1.4% a year.

How: typical resale home price change, same neighborhoods year to year (new construction excluded) — two-thirds the last 12 months and one-third the 24-month rate. Context, not a forecast.

If you sell now and save or invest it. Your assumption; 0 = not counted.

After 3 years

$7,311 ahead by renting

Sell now: walk-away today
$153,738
Selling now, total
$153,738
Rent collected, after vacancy
$2,280/mo
Expenses (tax, insurance, HOA, upkeep, management)
−$1,532/mo
Mortgage payment (P&I)
−$1,251/mo
Monthly cash flow
−$503/mo
Cash flow over 3 years
−$18,106
Walk-away when you sell in 3 years (at $409,677)
$179,155
Renting, then selling, total
$161,049

Rent and expenses are held flat. Walk-away = price − mortgage payoff − commission − the state-regulated title policy, the same math as the seller net sheet.

Full seller net sheet →What’s my home worth? →

Before you decide

  • Sell a home you lived in for 2 of the last 5 years and up to $250,000 of the gain ($500,000 married filing jointly) can be tax-free (IRS Section 121). Rent it out for more than 3 years and that window closes.
  • Rental income is taxable, and depreciation you take is taxed again when you sell.
  • A landlord handles repairs, turnover and tenant screening under Texas law and fair housing law — or pays a manager to.

Run the tax side past a CPA before choosing.

Budgetary comparison, not tax, legal or investment advice. It leaves out rent increases, repairs between tenants, income taxes, and any gain on the cash beyond the return you enter. Home values can fall as well as rise.

Talk to a lender

These are the lenders Allen works with. For any lender you’d like to talk to, tap Make introduction — we’ll make the introduction for you.

Allen Markel is a licensed Texas REALTOR®, not a mortgage lender or loan originator. He does not quote rates or terms and does not decide whether you qualify — only a lender can do that. Introductions are a courtesy; you choose who to work with.

Numbers raising questions? Walk through them with a person.

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