Some of us come into possession of multiple homes not due to our wealth and investments, but due to family members passing the torch. A home that was owned by a retired family member could be passed on to you if they decide to move in with you or into a care home. As a result, we might end up with multiple properties at some point in the future and you might be unsure what to do with it.
To help you decide what to do with your extra properties, here are some ways to make the most of your newfound ownership. Keep in mind that most of these will take some time and knowledge investment, but this guide will hopefully give you some idea on how to proceed with your choice.
Sell the Home
The first obvious option is to sell it. If you already own or rent a home, or if you don’t want to move into your newly acquired home because it’s too far away or for other reasons, then it’s never a bad idea to just sell it. A quick Google search of “sell my house” will bring up lots of quick-sale services that will pay you in cash for your home as-is. This is great if you want to get rid of the responsibility as quickly as possible, but you’ll get more money if you decide to list it as an estate agent.
Selling your home regular way might invite a lot of unwanted stress and work. You need to allow potential buyers access to your home, you might have to pay realtor fees and you might not even sell your home for months to come. It’s a good idea to clean up the home, tidy up the furniture and fix anything broken so that your house leaves a good first impression.
Make sure you speak with your realtor about all the hidden fees and costs of selling your home via their services. You don’t want to be hit with a nasty surprise when you get the money deposited into your account and it’s a fraction of what you expected.
Rent It Out
Many people dream of owning a property to rent out. Unfortunately, not everyone has the money or time to invest in real estate, and it becomes a pipe dream that escapes them. Fortunately, if you own a property that you don’t actively live in, you have the right to rent it out to people.
Be warned: renting out something isn’t passive income. Contrary to what people believe, you can’t simply list your property as a rental and expect to have thousands of people flocking to pay you money to live in your home. Far from that. Reaching out to potential tenants alone is a frustrating task because of the real estate fees that you have to pay, and you need to speak with each tenant individually unless you want to let the real estate handle all the transactions and negotiations for you (at a price).
In addition, you’re still going to be responsible for the majority of repairs. If the tenants trash your place and neglect to tell you before their contract is up, you’re going to have to pay for all the damages. While you can perhaps claim some compensation, you’ll still be left with a home that needs repairs before it’s worthy of being rented out again.
However, if you do manage to find tenants that are polite and friendly, you won’t experience any issues with a damaged home or delayed rent payments. For a week or two of work, you can safely secure passive income for the length of the contract. You might need to phone repairmen and fix things like leaky pipes and electricity issues, but it’s a small amount of work for the money you get.
Keep It
You never know when a second home might come in handy. Perhaps you can convert it into a holiday home, maybe you can use it as a private getaway, or you could even maintain it for family members to stay in when they’re traveling around the country or city. You could even renovate the home for your children when they grow up or move into it as your retirement home.
There are, of course, fees and bills when it comes to maintaining a home. However, if no one’s using electricity, water, and gas, then your bills will be extremely low. You’ll need to pay monthly for certain things like the phone, but you can switch the phone plan to the cheapest option to save on costs.
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