Rent or Sell? How to Compare the Numbers on Your San Antonio Home

Whether to rent or sell your San Antonio home is one of the most common questions Harvest Real Estate Property Management hears. Some owners are moving for work. Some are on military orders. Some bought a new home and are not sure what to do with the first one. Both answers can be right. The way to choose is to put the numbers side by side and then be honest about your plans.

Broker Betsy Nava-Flores has spent more than two decades on both sides of this question in San Antonio, selling homes and managing them. This is the same comparison she walks owners through.

Everything starts with a realistic rent. Not the highest number you have seen online, but what comparable homes near yours are actually leasing for. A home inside Loop 410, a home near Lackland and a home in a newer subdivision past Loop 1604 rent at very different prices, even at the same size.

A free rental analysis in San Antonio gives you a rent range from nearby comparables and a list of anything the home needs before it is ready to lease.

Next, list what the home costs you every month once a tenant is in it:

• Mortgage payment, including taxes and insurance if they are escrowed
• Landlord insurance, which usually replaces your homeowner's policy
• HOA dues, if you have them
• Property management, if you will not manage it yourself
• A repair reserve, money set aside every month for the water heater, the HVAC and the roof
• A vacancy reserve, for the weeks between tenants

Here is an example with round numbers, not a forecast for your home. Say the home rents for $1,900. The mortgage with taxes and insurance is $1,450, HOA dues are $40, management is $190 at 10% of rent charged, and you set aside $150 a month for repairs and vacancy. That leaves about $70 a month. That is positive, but thin, and one bad month erases it. Run your own numbers the same way.

Our management pricing is posted on the site, and what property management costs in San Antonio works it out in dollars.

On the other side, estimate what you would walk away with if you sold: the likely sale price, minus your loan payoff, minus the cost of selling. Selling costs include agent compensation, which is negotiable, plus title, closing and any repairs or concessions a buyer asks for.

That net number is the money you would have free today. Renting means leaving it in the house in exchange for monthly rent, paying down the loan, and whatever the home's value does over the years you keep it.

• Will you come back? Owners on PCS orders or a temporary job move often want the home waiting for them.
• Can you cover a bad month? A rental needs cash for the surprise repair or the empty month.
• Do you want to be a landlord? Either you or a manager will be answering the tenant's calls.
• What does your HOA allow? Some deed restrictions limit leasing.

Taxes matter too. If you lived in the home, the tax break on a home sale depends on having owned it and lived in it for at least two of the last five years, which IRS Publication 523 explains. Renting for too long can change that, so ask your CPA before you decide.

Some owners come to this question after trying to sell. The listing sat, the offers were too low, or it expired. Renting the home can be a strong next step in that situation. The rent helps carry the mortgage, taxes and insurance while you wait for a better time to sell, and you do not have to accept a price you never wanted. It works when the numbers above add up, so start there. Read more on renting a home that did not sell.

The fastest way to decide is to see the rent and the cost of management in real numbers for your house. Send us your address or call 210-889-7495, and Betsy will put together your rental analysis. If you decide to rent, here is what full-service management includes.

This is general information, not tax or legal advice.