The house........ what to do with the house

[Thesmilintraveller]

Hello everybody,   Once again, I am asking for your advice.    Along with the many many things to be organised when we go on our 12 months trip is......what to do with our house.    As we see it, there are three options............. leave it empty, rent it out or sell.     I would be very interested to hear from anybody that has had to make this choice and what were the pros and cons.   We have discussed this many many times among ourselves, but I am sure there are many things we have not thought of atm.   Any words of wisdom from anybody would be greatly appreciated.   Many thanks in advance......... hope your week is fabulous...... Lyn

[BTMNDR]

G'day SmilinTraveller,

We're not quite in the same position as you, in that we're not yet travelling, nor at this stage do we plan to for a 12 month period. We are however making preparations that will allow us to travel when retirement comes.

We have bought a unit in a "resort" on the Atherton Tablelands. The "resort" caters for weddings, conferences and the like and our unit is one of the 25 or so in the rental pool.

With sufficient notice we can remove it from the pool for personal use. Our loose plan is to remove it from the pool for 3 months, probably winter, and over the period of a year, we'll live in our primary residence for three months, spend 3 months travelling to the Tablelands, spend 3 months on the Tablelands, then spend 3 months travelling back to our primary residence. Then repeat.

[weeds]

house sitters?

if you are selling and planning to buy on your return than just be mindful the markets can change, unfortunately for me I made a loss.........I know buy and sell in the same market, well based on my experience

good luck with the trip

[Nay-DMAX]

We would love to be doing what you are doing I have the added issue that if we got someone to stay here or rent I have horses and a cat that need taking care of and would not want to leave that to just anybody.  Just personal choice I would not leave it empty for that long so would either rent it or sell it.  At least if you rent it for a 12 month contract it is there to come back to if you need it,  if you choose to stay on the road longer you could see about extending the contract in 6 month lots or something.

[HEM19X]

house sitters?

if you are selling and planning to buy on your return than just be mindful the markets can change, unfortunately for me I made a loss.........I know buy and sell in the same market, well based on my experience

good luck with the trip

Suppose it really depends on what you plan to do when you return - you may love it so much you decide never to return - so selling at a later date might be best. Do you want to live in the same place/suburb or is this an opportunity to move somewhere else/downsize?

House sitters are a good option as there is more flexibility than renting - for example if you lease the house for 12 month, what happens if you HAVE to come home early - God forbid, illness, family circumstances etc.

Then again leaving it empty means that nothing gets looked after & you have the continuing costs of rates, lawn mowing etc 

What ever you decide, the last thing you want is to be continually worried about the house, get out & enjoy the travel while you can.

Regards

Hem

[chester ver2.0]

I would rent cause the question will beg is are you coming back

I was supposed to be on the road for 5 months and i am still on the road 4 years later

[Brumbypt]

I sold and used the money to travel.

if I was you then sell, then u r free to buy in another city/town/anywhere else that you fall in love with.


then what do you do with your stuff? buy a shipping container and leave it at a friends property for free..
Then after 10 years ya friends will say, are they ever coming to get their stuff.. hahahaha


house sitter, only if you have a family member or friend that you can fully trust.

If you are not 100% happy with your current house then sell, but doing that you wont have a fixed address for your rego and licences and every caravan park that asks for your address.
Unless you can use someones address.

Its a tricky situation, it has a lot of pros and cons what ever you do.


Peter,
sent by telegram stop

[Redcherokee]

When we moved to a different city for two years, we rented out the house.

We found we needed to spend money in order to rent it - various minor problems that didn't bother us needed to be fixed for tenants.  During the rental we had periodic issues with maintenance things that needed to be worked through via the agent.  Harder than they should be when you just can't see what is going on.  The first tenants left, delays getting new tenants in etc, put us into that scenario where we where ready to come back to the house before the lease was up.     We ended up getting the agents to explain to the tenants that if they stayed we would be giving them four weeks notice at the first available opportunity.  That would have been early December, thus forcing them to move right over Christmas.  Thankfully, they didn't want to do that, so chose to leave earlier.  Otherwise we would have been homeless over Christmas ourselves.   When we did get back into the house, there were lots of minor issues, caused by people just not looking after things the way we do.  This is called wear and tear by the agent, but is disappointing. 

Not saying I would never do it again, but it would be the bottom of the list of possibilities.

[dazzler]

Rent it.

Repair when you get home. 

Live off the rental.

[JCOJ]

Get a good real estate agent and rent it for 12 months.

You get an income while you are travelling and you get your house looked after (this will happen if you get a good agent that is brutal with their tenant references).

I wouldn't leave it empty - I'd check with you insurance on this option if you are planning it - they don't like insuring places that are vacant for more than 90 days.

[Thesmilintraveller]

thank you one and all for your suggestions and your time.......much food for thought for us to mull over...... cheers, Lyn

[chester ver2.0]

Get a good real estate agent and rent it for 12 months.

You get an income while you are travelling and you get your house looked after (this will happen if you get a good agent that is brutal with their tenant references).

I wouldn't leave it empty - I'd check with you insurance on this option if you are planning it - they don't like insuring places that are vacant for more than 90 days.

Honestly mate you must be the only decent real estate agent in OZ if i ever rented a house again it would then be a rental for life and i would not be living back in it

[BrisVegasGolfer]

Is the house your principle place of residence?  If so, you can rent it out for 6 years I think and still move back in and not lose that PPOR status.  This can have implications if you sell the house and make a profit.  We're 3 years into this atm as we are renting elsewhere.  Be prepared to lower your expectations on how tenants will look after your house and also be prepared to repair/replace everything that impacts on your tenants.  This drives me nuts, but is pretty common I think. 

Good luck with whatever you choose. 

[Aaron Schubert]

Personally, I'd be looking at renting it out, and moving back in at a later date. Crunch the numbers, and see what you will be losing/gaining each week either way. I'd like to know that I have something to come back to, even if its costing a hundred dollars a week to keep.

Your best bet it to speak to a decent financial advisor/real estate agent and speak to them about it.

Aaron

[dazzler]

I'd like to know that I have something to come back to, even if its costing a hundred dollars a week to keep.



Aaron

Thats a really good point.  When we did our biggish trip we sold up.  Makes you feel rather unconnected.  (Could be good or bad I s'pose) 

[Thesmilintraveller]

thank you once again everybody. ....... we will be seeing our first financial advisor on Friday.... it looks like we have very exciting and interesting times ahead.

Cheers, Lyn

[KeithB]

Don't forget that the cost of buying a selling can be quite high. Legals, agency fees and stamp duty can add up to big bucks.

[cap8959]

Rent it out. I have only one problem with that and it is finding decent property managers in Brisbane. We have several properties there and the managers need to be watched so you get regular inspections that you can rely on. If you know a good agent that is in the Yeronga, Chelmer I would like to know their name.

My thoughts on the Brisbane market is it has been flat for some time. Expect some decent rise very soon. If you sell, what are you going to be able to buy on return?

[McGirr]

A lot of factors to consider. Do you owe money on the home, check with your insurance regarding renting your home out, get a price on landlord insurance to protect you.

Talk to a reputable rental agent and get their costs. Talk to an accountant regarding tax on the money you earn from the rental.

Factor all the costs involved. The market in Brisbane is slowly rising. Who knows if you will come back home as when you are on holidays for a long period you may find the perfect place to stay.

Good luck on your decision.

Mark

[Thesmilintraveller]

thank you everybody once again......... yes, we are in Brisbane, and love it........ but we will be keeping our eyes open while we are away....... we are at a crossroads in our lives and you just never know what lies around the corner....it will be interesting to see what our first advisor suggests later this week... cheers, Lyn

[oldmate]

And if you rent it make sure you have your own triads me that can do the maintenance/fix problems, that you trust. As the 18 yr old girl who is the rental property manager (who knows everything about the building industry) will just use whoever will do it cheapest. Nightmare if you plan on coming back and will cost you more even if your not.

[Reddirtroaming]

I agree with most of the other & rent it.

This is what we are doing (we are currently 2.5 months into a 12 month trip). We moved all our furniture to a shipping container at my parents farm. This worked out cheaper for us than storage, but I am sure you would have plenty of storage companies in Brisbane. We have 2 dogs who are staying with my husbands parents & our mail is redirected to them. We set up all bills to be paid electronically.

Be prepared for problems though. Just before we left (the house was rented already) we had a big storm & ended up with some damage & despite insurance needed a new roof at $23K. Luckily we could tack the cost onto our home loan & didn't have to use any travel money, but it was a huge job to coordinate while we were on the road with roofers, insurance company, real estate etc. We also had a horrible first tenant that only lasted a month or so, but seem to have an ok one now (touch wood). Our real estate agent is pretty good, they seem to handle it all pretty well.

It all sounds bad, but just wanted to give you some perspective.

Selling would be an option if you had the time to do so & could afford the selling costs.

I would not leave it empty unless you had family or friends that were willing to keep an eye on it constantly.

Just wanted to let you know what we did. We are in a similar situation as we don't know what we will be doing when we get back, so renting was a good option.

[Thesmilintraveller]

Thank you everybody once again.   It is looking more and more like we will rent out the house.   There are just so many little things to think of when decisions are being made.   My head hurts and I think I need a holiday

[Bird]

...  we had a big storm & ended up with some damage & despite insurance needed a new roof at $23K.

Huh??? Isnt that what insurance is for

[Reddirtroaming]

Huh??? Isnt that what insurance is for

We thought so too!! They covered the internal repairs but wouldn't cover the roof as it was old & asbestos.  Really really bad timing!!!!!