I’m really interested in the answers because I’m about to inherit an apartment that I don’t plan to live in. Looking at the market, I’m hesitant to sell, as I would have to pay hefty taxes. Letting it stand empty does not make sense.
I did not purposefully purchase this apartment to make money on it, I’d much rather have grandma around, and I’m planning to sell it in about 5 years when we’re gonna be looking for a new place with my parents.
My best bet is renting it out below market price and being a kind and understanding landlord, which sounds like an oxymoron to me too…
Any thoughts on my situation?
I am currently in a slightly similar situation (bought flat 1.5 years ago, was laid off, decided to leave country, if I sell I will incur fines from bank/loss vs purchase price)… I decided to rent the home until I could sell it and ‘break even’ hopefully in 2 years. I set the rent at as close to what I have to pay the bank+insurance+small amount (<100€) for impending repairs. This was under market (I did not actually research the market) as I received a lot of interest and comments when I posted it. I met about a dozen potential tenants in person. I let them know that I did not want to be a landlord and that I would be selling the place as soon as I could break even but that I would be the best landlord I could be regarding the living situation in the flat. I rent to a woman who seems happy with the arrangement. I hate being a landlord but I also don’t want to suffer more financial hardship after being laid off and leaving country. I figure I am at least helping someone to live in a decent place for a ‘fair’ price that would be hard to come by otherwise… Further, not making actual cash profit makes me feel a bit better. But I am creating equity in the property as I pay down the principal ever-so-slowly using this woman’s rent money… I don’t feel good about it on the whole and will be happy to be rid of it.
This sounds fair to me. You didn’t buy the property to profit from renting it. I’d like to either do something like this or find a tenant whose company pays for the rent, there are many in the city - if I were to rent it.
