Is it time to sell your “little apartment”? Here's why more and more owners are making that decision

Is it time to sell your “little apartment”? Here's why more and more owners are making that decision

If you are among those who have made a smart life move — buying a larger apartment on credit and keeping a smaller one and renting it out — you are not the only one. That model has been a great decision for years: rent covers installment loans, a small apartment finances a large one.

But the market has changed.

And more and more owners right now ask one important question:
does it still make sense to keep a small apartment — or has it come time to sell?

1. The market has never been more sympathetic to sellers

That the prices of non-renin have been rising steadily for the last ten years. An apartment that you bought 5—10 years ago is often worth today significantly more than 10 years ago, and the small apartment you kept is not uncommon and twice as much.

‍By selling a smaller apartment, you can:

• close a large part (or all) of the remaining loan
• significantly reduce monthly expenses
• Get rid of financial pressure

2. Rent is not just income

On paper, renting sounds simple, and looks like a profit, but in reality, rental homeowners know very well that this is not always the case.

Sometimes it is necessary to replace appliances because they have worn out or simply broke down just after the expiration of the warranty, sometimes it is necessary to replace some parts of the furniture. Sometimes a dog or cat that you have never given permission to keep in an apartment scratches or gnaws a sofa, or worse a door. Sometimes subtenants disappear without a trace, but of course their address remains registered on your apartment (and the check-in/change can only be done in person), Sometimes they stay in the apartment even though they do not pay their obligations (utilities and rent). Sometimes wonderful subtenants turn into Subjects from hell. It is not uncommon for something important and large in an apartment to break down just when the owner is on vacation.

https://www.euro-interijeri.hr/blog/podstanari-iz-pakla

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It often happens to me that apartment owners say that they never want to rent an apartment again. They say that they managed to make money on rent and are now planning on selling, but that literally the last 10 years they have been in too much stress.

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Of course there are also those good stories in which the subtenants are really excellent, they keep the apartment, pay their obligations,... and indeed such landlords are really happy, only they have to be aware that young people also tend to buy their property and move away from subtenancy, so in most cases the rent lasts about 1 year and the tenants change annually.

Many owners of small apartments realize that they actually work for an apartment, instead of the apartment working for them!

3. Risk vs. Safety

Holding a property for rent means continuous exposure to:

• changes in the law
• tax burdens
• Unpredictable situations with tenants
• changes in the real estate market and falling prices

On the other hand, selling means:

• secure and immediate realization of profits
• liquid assets in the account
• the possibility of new investments (or simply repayment of the loan and a calmer sleep)

4. What would you do with the money?

This is a key issue that many avoid.

Imagine selling your small apartment today. What then?

We are witnessing a high rate of inflation and keeping money in the account is really not the best solution. In addition we are known to like to keep money in “brickwork” which has really turned out to be a good business move for most citizens in the past 10 years. However, we are also aware that real estate can lose value and that there may be a situation that real estate prices will start to fall rapidly, on the other hand there is a possibility that rental prices will also fall, and that there will be many apartments that will not be able to find subtenants. On the other hand, the loan installment will not fall and it is necessary to pay it every month. Some clients tell me that they are under constant stress and that they have no supplies other than that apartment. Having a surplus property is not bad, but everyone should also have savings with which they could survive a few months without income.

Imagine a life without debts - without credit!

• close the loan and live without debts
• Investing in something more profitable
• save capital for future opportunities
• you just make your life easier
• you travel without a guilty conscience

For many people — it's the first time in a long time that they have Financial freedom of choice.

5. The most common misconception: “I'll wait a little longer”

Almost all owners think the same:

“Prices will continue to rise, it is not urgent.”

Maybe he will. Maybe he won't. No one really has an answer to that question.

But what is certain:
at the moment you have a concrete, realizable value - by waiting you take a risk.

Every apartment owner should ask himself whether a small apartment is a burden to him?

Your small apartment used to be a great decision.
The question is — is it still?

If:

• rent covers the loan, but without real profit
• apartment requires your time and nerves
• the value of the property has increased significantly

... then perhaps we are no longer talking about an investment, but about a missed opportunity.

Thinking about selling?

You don't have to make a decision right away.

But it makes sense to know:

• how much your apartment is worth today
• how much you could realistically get
• what are the options on the market

Sometimes one conversation is enough to make things clearer.

Maybe right now is the right time to make the next smart move. Order an appraisal of your property and look at all the options!

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