We have been renting our former house for a while. We rent it ourselves and never had issues renting it. Given our experience, we wanted a very specific type of tenants. We got them quickly but maybe we were just lucky. We posted on Zillow and had good traction.

If you are renting your house out for just one year you should consider renting it furnished (maybe you already are).
Good luck!

Anonymous wrote:OP you might have people jumping and feeling the same way as you if you had it on the market. Renting is different- they don’t need to fall in love bc it won’t be their house. Your situation probably has eliminated a ton of people who don’t want to move for just one year. That’s a hassle, and lots of renters want the flexibility of staying longer.
I will caution you that you sound like the type of LL where it always ends badly. Tenants have no respect for the home and won’t treat it like their own. You are going to be upset about what is considered normal wear and tear

+1 to all PPs and especially this one.
Shouldn't your agent be handling all this? Dump them and get a property manager yesterday, and have them find the tenant. Then step back. Way back.

OP you might have people jumping and feeling the same way as you if you had it on the market. Renting is different- they don’t need to fall in love bc it won’t be their house. Your situation probably has eliminated a ton of people who don’t want to move for just one year. That’s a hassle, and lots of renters want the flexibility of staying longer.
I will caution you that you sound like the type of LL where it always ends badly. Tenants have no respect for the home and won’t treat it like their own. You are going to be upset about what is considered normal wear and tear

Don’t take things so personally.
I’m sure your house is absolutely lovely. You’ll find a tenant eventually, given the correct price.

What neighborhood? And are you sure you aren’t being greedy price wise? This is very different than my experience. I manage rentals in 20015 — we get many good applicants and it is never hard to lease a property within 2-3 weeks tops.

It’s not the house, it’s the process.

We rent out a home in NoVA. We use Zillow and do it ourselves, and I found the fact that you could pay one app fee and apply to as many places as you want for that one fee very problematic—we got many applications from people who were not serious at all, and it was a big hassle.

We ended up getting a great tenant and they are staying another year though. I think our house is priced a couple hundred below market (with market being about $4500 or so), and that helps to get the good prospective tenants to prioritize your house.

All of this said—if you are using an agent, they should know all of this. Perhaps the rental market is cooling. Or if you have a very expensive property…those sometimes take longer to rent—less prospective tenants out there.

Price. Cost to own is a lot higher than cost to rent.

Anonymous wrote:Renters aren’t as emotionally invested as you, of course. They’re thinking about the price. You can’t take it personally. You should still love your amazing home! Just remember that renters aren’t looking to fall in love. They’re thinking short term and very practically.

This, and especially because they know you are only going to rent it out for a year.
This limits your rental pool to people who are not looking for "home", they are just looking for meeting their needs for a year.

IT'S TOO EXPENSIVE.

OP, can you please stop emoting and making it personal??? It's always about the money. I know several educated, middle-class families who rent in the DC area, because they're on temporary assignment here, or are trying neighborhoods before buying, and for them this is just a transaction. They have visited multiple homes for rent, and need to make a decision based on finances.

Your house is just too expensive for what it offers in terms of number of bedrooms and bathrooms, state of appliances, garage or parking spaces, etc - ie, the fundamentals. It's nice that the space is harmonious and that it has great natural light or whatever, but to a renter those are secondary considerations.

I have a very pretty house in a very desirable location, but I have no illusions on what a renter might need, and if ever I rent it out, it will be for cheap - the stairs are treacherous and there aren't enough bathrooms! A day time guest has very different needs from a renter!

Price. It always come down to price.

Your self-worth seems really tied up on the house, so of course this will be harder for you than for someone who sees this merely as a transaction.

But people who rent houses are often moving to the area and want to get a feel before buying. No one is moving right now since the recession is coming. So it’s a market timing issue more than about your house specifically.

Renters aren’t as emotionally invested as you, of course. They’re thinking about the price. You can’t take it personally. You should still love your amazing home! Just remember that renters aren’t looking to fall in love. They’re thinking short term and very practically.

Anonymous wrote:What is the square footage? What year was it built? Does it have special original features? Where is it located? We can’t help without knowing more.

I'm not going to disclose the details of my house while it's still on the market and risk whatever chances we have of renting it :/
I am asking more about the experience of renting from others who have gone through the same thing.

What is the square footage? What year was it built? Does it have special original features? Where is it located? We can’t help without knowing more.

We are renting out our home while DH takes a temporary work assignment in another state. We're working with a highly experienced and recommended agent.

The house is my pride and joy. We host a lot and you can see people's eyes light up when they come in for the first time, we get so many sincere compliments on the layout, the design, the space, etc. We love our amazing walkable neighborhood and our schools.

So, we put it on the market - gorgeous photos, price in line with other less new homes that rented recently in our area.

Just a few families come to see it. Several pass. We get multiple offers. One is great so we accept right away but they say they no longer want the house, they found a better one. We go to the next offer, they seem ready to go, we send the lease, no response. The remaining offers are really not great tenants.

This process has made me feel so crap about a house I loved. I feel completely powerless, like the renters have all the leverage. My friends are mostly middle class and live in smaller homes - I am feeling like I was totally deluded by their compliments and by my own love of the house (I grew up poor and for me living here has been like a dream). But clearly, my house isn't good enough for the kind of people who can afford it

If anyone has any thoughts or advice for navigating all this stress and doubt, please let me know. (Please hold off the mean comments, I'm sad enough as it is).