If your Boston condo is for sale but you haven’t gotten any offers you’re comfortable with, you may be wondering: what do I do if it doesn’t sell? And for a growing number of homeowners, that’s turning into a new dilemma: should I just rent it instead?

There’s a term for this in the industry, and it’s called an accidental landlord. Here’s how Yahoo Finance defines it:

“These ‘accidental landlords’ are homeowners who tried to sell but couldn’t fetch the price they wanted — and instead have decided to rent out their homes until conditions improve.”

Why This Is Happening More Often Right Now

And right now, the number of South Boston condo sellers are turning into accidental landlords is rising. Business Insider explains why:

“While there have always been accidental landlords . . . an era of middling home sales brought on by a steep rise in borrowing rates — is minting a new wave of reluctant rental owners.”

Basically, Boston condo sales have slowed down as buyers struggle with today’s affordability challenges. And that’s leaving some homeowners with listings that sit and go stale. And if they don’t want to drop their price to try to appeal to buyers, they may rent instead.

But here’s the thing you need to remember if renting your condo has crossed your mind. Becoming a landlord wasn’t your original plan, and there’s probably a reason for that. It comes with a lot more responsibility (and risk) than most people expect.

So, if you find yourself toying with that option, ask yourself these questions first:

1. Does Your Boston Condo Have Potential as a Profitable Rental?

Just because you can rent a Boston condo it doesn’t mean you should. For example:

Are you moving out of state? Managing maintenance from far away isn’t easy.
Does the home need repairs before it’s rental-ready? And do you have the time or the funds for that?
Is your neighborhood one that typically attracts renters, and would your house be profitable as one?

If any of those give you pause, it’s a sign selling might be the better move.

2. Are You Ready To Be a Boston Apartment Landlord?

On paper, renting sounds like easy passive income. In reality, it often looks more like this:

Midnight calls about clogged toilets or broken air conditioners
Chasing down missed rent payments
Damage you’ll have to fix between tenants

As Redfin notes:

“Landlords have to fix things like broken pipes, defunct HVAC systems, and structural damage, among other essential repairs. If you don’t have a few thousand dollars on hand to take care of these repairs, you could end up in a bind.”

3. Have You Thought Through the True Costs?

According to Bankrate, here are just a few of the hidden costs that come with renting out your home:

A higher insurance premium (landlord insurance typically costs about 25% more)
Management fees (if you use a property manager, they typically charge around 10% of the rent)
Maintenance and advertising to find tenants
Gaps between tenants, where you cover the mortgage without rental income coming in

All of that adds up, fast.

While renting can be a smart move for the right person with the right house, if you’re only considering it because your listing didn’t get traction, there may be a better solution: talking to your current agent and revisiting the pricing strategy on your Boston condo first.

With their advice you can rework your strategy, relaunch at the right price, and attract real buyers to make the sale happen.

Boston Condos for Sale and the Bottom Line

Before you decide to rent your condo, make sure to carefully weigh the pros and cons of becoming a landlord. For some homeowners, the hassle (and the expense) may not be worth it.

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Can’t sell? Rent out your condo, instead?

We’ve been over this, before, but it’s worth repeating:

If you have your property up for sale, and it won’t sell, lower the price.

Oh, wait, there’s another option (if you can wing it, financially).

Rent out your current property, instead.

The Herald ran a story about this, a couple days ago:

Real estate agents say that with the sales market cooling but the rental market picking up, more and more sellers who can’t line up buyers are deciding to look for tenants instead.

I can find a tenant to pay $1,500 a month for a one-bedroom Boston condo with my eyes closed, said agent, John Ford of Ford Realty Inc. If someone has a mortgage below $2,500 or even $3,500 a month, they can cover that through renting and move on with their lives.

Sellers say receiving rent beats accepting low-ball offers or carrying two mortgages (one for a new place and one for an old one that just wont sell).

There are some serious things to consider, as the Herald’s Jerry Kronenberg points out.

There are a couple points that seem most important to me.

First, obviously, you might not be abel to do this. I mean, most people need to sell their current home in order to make the down payment on their new home. This is especially true because most people are trading up from their current home to a larger, and/or more expensive home, so they need the profit from their current home’s sale, even more.

Second, do you really want to be a landlord?

Third, be very attentive to what the condo rule are where you currently live. When we lived at Court Square Press, there was a rule that each and every unit had to be owner-occupied for five of each seven years, or something like that, meaning you couldn’t rent out your unit forever. This was so that it didn’t become a “rental” building. So, read the condo docs, carefully. Last thing you want is, two or three years from now, some nosey neighbor in your old condo complex brings up the issue at a condo meeting, and you end up screwed.

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