The 5-Year Rule · Geoffrey's Take
Thinking about selling? Before you do — should you hold it, rent it out, and buy your next place anyway? You don't always have to sell to move on. Here's the 5-year math I use to cut through it.
You may have heard a different “5-year rule” — the one about not buying unless you'll stay five years. This is the other one: whether to hold a home you already own, or sell it.
Four honest inputs. The math runs right here — no email, no wall. Takes about thirty seconds.
Your total monthly payment — mortgage, taxes & insurance (the escrowed number).
The investor's view — add up what it really costs to hold.
Hold & rent · 5 years
$0
what renting it out pays you over five years
Sell today
$0
≈ what you'd walk away with
A quick estimate, not tax advice — I'll run your true numbers, and you confirm with your CPA. On purpose, this leaves out appreciation, taxes, and what the place means to you. That's where a real conversation comes in.
Leave your name and number and Geoffrey will reach out directly — no obligation, no pressure.
Geoffrey will reach out directly with your real numbers.
In the meantime — 952-258-3100.
Why I Use It
Most people decide whether to sell a property with their gut. I use a number.
Any property you own is really two things at once: a lump sum you could walk away with today if you sold it, and an income stream if you hold onto it and rent it out. And here's what a lot of people miss — you don't have to sell to move on. If your income supports it, you can lease out the home you have and still buy the next one. So the real question is rarely “should I stay” — it's which is worth more to you: the check today, or the rent for years to come?
So I put them side by side over five years.
Hold side: what the property pays you if you rent it out — the rent, minus what it costs to carry (mortgage, taxes, insurance, upkeep) — added up over five years.
Sell side: what you'd actually net if you sold today — your price, minus what you owe, minus the cost of selling.
Then I compare them. If five years of holding and renting beats the check you'd get for selling, keep it — it's paying you more than the payout would. If the sale wins, sell it and put that money somewhere it works harder.
Why five years? A property usually needs a little time to be worth more than the cost and effort of selling it — and about five years is where holding starts to pay off. Long enough to see past one good or bad year, short enough to still be a real decision.
This won't capture everything — appreciation, taxes, what the place means to you. That's where I come in. But it cuts the emotion and gives you a starting answer in about thirty seconds. Most people have never actually run their own numbers — and the moment they do, the decision usually makes itself.
Not sure what yours would rent for, or what you'd really net? That's the easiest call I take all week.
“The agent who'll tell you to keep your house.”
Talk it through with Geoffrey Tap to call — or text instead 952-258-3100