Moving To A New Country? Here’s What To Do With Your Home

Statistics reveal that over 8 million American expats live in different countries. Moving to a new country can be exciting, as you’re about to start a new life and make new memories. And it can also be overwhelming having to pack your belongings, sort your travel documents, and make other preparations. But have you about what would happen to your current home? Fortunately, you can consider several options for handling your property before moving, including the following.

What to Do With your Home When Moving to a New Country

Sell your home  

If you want to stay in your new country permanently, this is a good move. One advantage worth considering is that the money from your home sale can boost your account and increase your chances of acquiring a permanent visa that lasts more than 90 days. This is because your new country wants to ensure you can support yourself after relocating. Moreover, depending on your destination country, you can get enough to buy a new home and a surplus to live by. 

Despite these benefits, you don’t want to rush into selling your home without considering certain factors. For instance, a home valuation can help determine your house’s value. You can also work with credible real estate agents to get the best deals for your property. You also want to ensure that you aren’t penalized for capital tax gains; leveraging an attorney and accountant will prove helpful in this situation. 

Rent your home 

Your emotional attachment may make you reluctant to part with your home. Perhaps, you still have plans to return to your home country after a while. In these situations, selling it may not be the best option. Instead, you want to consider giving it out for rent. Depending on how you rent your property, you can incur less tax than selling. It’s also a great way to get passive income and build equity while ensuring that your home is maintained regularly. It’s prudent to communicate with your insurance agency and expat mortgage lender about your intention to avoid breaching any rules and facing lawsuits. Consequently, communicate with your tax advisor to help reduce your tax liability, as your rent payment will be subject to income taxes. 

Since you won’t be around to conduct periodic checks or routine maintenance, hiring a reliable property manager makes sense. They will be responsible for finding tenants, managing your contracts and bills, coordinating repairs, and updating you with information regarding your tenants. You can also consider being your property manager if you have the time or resources, although it may be more challenging. Picking the wrong tenants can cost you your home, rental fees, and peace. Therefore, you’ll find it helpful to thoroughly screen potential tenants to avoid problems, so keep this in mind. 

Leverage house-sitters 

You don’t want to sell, and renting doesn’t feel right. But you also don’t want your home to be deserted. You can get house sitters to live in your home and attend to its maintenance and upkeep. They can even help take care of your pets if you can’t travel with them. And having people on your property can deter burglars from entering and plundering your home. However, house-sitting isn’t permitted in all neighborhoods, so you want to ensure that your community allows it. 

Family and friends can make excellent house-sitters, as you can trust them with your asset and comfortably live in your new country. You only need to make arrangements with them and determine if they can take on the task without feeling overwhelmed. If your loved ones can’t house-sit, you can hire professional house-sitters, although you want to begin the process early to find someone you can entrust your house. Credible house-sitting websites will help you avoid shady characters, so feel free to consider them. Third-party review websites can also give you an unbiased opinion on various house-sitters, so keep this in mind. 

Convert your home to an Airbnb 

You can also convert your property into an Airbnb and earn more in nightly fees than long term-renting. However, you need to spruce up your space to make it more inviting to guests. You also want to invest in amenities like wi-fi, bedding, towels, pantry staples, toiletries, etc. Again, your property manager can welcome guests and take care of the maintenance, so keep this in mind. You can also enlist your family or friends to take this on as a part-time job. 

Finding good means to handle your home before traveling can ensure your peace. You can consider the options listed above for a more desirable outcome.