Should I Sell or Rent My San Antonio Home?
Selling gives you an estimate of what you could walk away with at closing. Renting is worth a closer look if the home can cover its costs, leave room for repairs and vacancy, and you can afford to keep your equity tied up in it.
How to read your results
Cash at closing
What's left after selling costs and your mortgage payoff. It's money you can use now, for a down payment on your next home or anything else.
Monthly rental cash flow
Estimated rent after mortgage, taxes, insurance, HOA dues, management, vacancy, and a repair reserve. Negative means you'd pay to keep it.
Break-even rent
The monthly rent needed to cover the costs the calculator includes. If homes like yours don't rent for that much, renting will cost you money each month.
Example: what one rough year does
Take a $350,000 home with $220,000 owed, a $1,350 monthly payment, $8,000 in yearly taxes, and $2,200 in landlord insurance. At $2,100 in rent, it falls about $570 short each month, and the break-even rent is about $2,840. Add one vacant month and a $3,000 extra repair, and the first year runs about $10,600 out of pocket. That's why the rental side needs room for the months that don't go to plan.
Two tax questions to ask first
Your homestead exemption. Texas lets you keep it during a temporary absence of less than two years if you plan to return and don't set up a different main home. Most owners who move out and buy elsewhere do set up a new main home, so the exemption on the old one usually ends and the tax bill rises.
Capital gains when you sell later. Homeowners may qualify to exclude some gain from a later sale if they meet the federal requirements, including owning and living in the home as their main home for at least 2 of the 5 years before the sale. Depreciation from the years it was a rental can't be excluded. Your tax professional can tell you how the timing works for you.
Get both numbers for your home.
Marelli Properties will pull comparable sales to estimate your price and cash at closing. For Lease Clover will pull comparable rentals to estimate your rent. See both before you choose a direction.
Compare my sale and rental numbersEstimates for comparison only, not a guarantee of sale price, rent, or returns. Marelli Properties and For Lease Clover are separately licensed Texas real estate brokerages under common ownership. Property management services are provided by For Lease Clover, TREC License #9012932-BB.
