We’re Selling Our Home And Moving Into A Rental House

I know I have been all over the place lately when it comes to what 2015 will hold for us. I think we finally have our plan down though!

We have decided that we will be putting our home on the market in the next few months and moving into a rental house somewhere in Colorado.

We have also decided that we are going to put our home buying process on hold so that we don’t feel as rushed trying to determine where we want to buy our next house (since the towns in Colorado that we like are between 14 and 20 hours away). This will be better for us because we can hopefully then move around in case we do not like the town that we originally move to.

Our plan is to find and move into a rental house in Colorado before we put our house on the market. That way we can be completely out of our current home so that it can be clean and dog free for when potential home buyers come and look at it.

This means that we need to find a rental soon.

We have been searching and have found a few places, but are just waiting to hear back.

We also haven’t rented a place since we were 18 (and it was just from a family member so we really didn’t get the full experience), so the thought of going from a home of our own to dealing with property management companies or a landlord is a new experience for us. I know this wouldn’t stress a normal person out, but for me it does!

Below are some of the things we are keeping in mind when we choose our rental.

Our budget.

We’ve decided that our very top budget for a rental in Colorado will be $2,000 per month, but we will be hoping for something cheaper. This seems crazy high to us, as we own our current home and our mortgage is only $964 a month including taxes, home insurance, and everything else.

However, we need a rental house (not an apartment) that allows dogs and preferably has a fenced in backyard, so I know our budget has to be higher to accommodate the things that we need.

I do have a question for others about this topic. Do most people tend to negotiate the price of a rental?

We will need to declutter more.

Since we might decide to move around a couple of times (one of the many positives of a location independent business!) before we truly settle down again and buy our next home, we want to live a much more minimalist lifestyle.

This means I need to start getting more serious about my decluttering mission as I need to get rid of much more than I originally planned for.

Some of the things we might need to get rid of or slim down include:

• Furniture. Our current home is full of furniture. We have three couches, a sectional, and a recliner. We will definitely have to sell a few couches, which I am completely fine with because that means MUCH less for us to move. We also need to get rid of some furniture bed sets as both of our guest bedrooms have a full set of bedroom furniture in them. We will keep one though so that my sister has a place to live when she is on break from college.
• Clothing. I want to get rid of much more clothing than I originally thought. I have items in my closet that I’ve just been holding onto for the “perfect occasion” but I just need to get rid of them.

Miscellaneous.

There are many others things we need to think about and/or remember as well when it comes to finding a rental.

• Renters insurance. We will definitely be paying for this. I’ve heard it’s relatively cheap so I have no problem paying for it as I like having peace of mind.
• Utility costs. This is a big thing for us to think of when we look for a house rental in Colorado. We had a problem with the house we rented when we were 18 and I do not want to make the same mistake again. I still remember our heat bill being around $400 a month for our tiny 400 square foot rental house, and we even kept the house cold. It didn’t make any sense. This time around, I will try to do as much research and I’ll be sure to ask the landlord what the average utility bills are.
• We will inspect the house. I don’t want to get charged for the previous tenant’s damages, so we will be sure to take pictures and document anything we find.
• Is there a guest policy? Occasionally, my sister will be living with us. For example, this summer she will have a few months where she will be living with us until her classes start up again. I need to make sure that the landlord is okay with that.

What tips for finding a good rental house do you have for us? Is there anything we are missing?