How much is it worth to sell your house in order to go full-time. Would you do it if you walked away from sale just breaking even or with very little cash in hand?
Just had real estate agent come by our house Friday night and from what they are saying about the comp sales in our neighborhood we will practically have to GIVE our house away!
We do not HAVE to sell our house to buy our full-time rig (already got it & it is paid for) but we don't like the idea of letting house go for so little. There is no doubt that it would sell (the agents loved our house).....but to give it away just seems wrong.
We would really love to clear enough after paying off the small balance due on mortgage to put it away for a future purchase of stick-n-bricks when we get too old to full-time or to replace full-time rig when time comes.
Who else had this issue?
53 Merc said
08:58 AM Jul 11, 2011
Everyone trying to sell a house in this administration climate. You just have to look at the difference in the bottom line without the S&B. Lawn upkeep, taxes, homeowners association fees, regular maintenance, mortgage (if there is one), insurances and all the associated utilities and unexpected outlays due to failures. Oil in winter, or natural gas or electric heat, air conditioning in the summer are all factors to be considered. If you will use an honest pencil and total your cost of keeping a S&B, then use an honest pencil to calculate your costs to RV fulltime, it becomes a no-brainer (which is good in my case). I know of a couple that had to do a short sale and make up the difference, but still is way ahead at the end of the month. Each of us has to make up our own mind on which is the best way to advance with our lives.
NorCal Dan said
09:11 AM Jul 11, 2011
You could rent the house out using a good management company who screens potential renters. Having renters, good renters, means the house is lived in and being taken care of, lawn being mowed, etc.
On the flip side, no doubt you will be "thinking" about the house while traveling, are the renters taking care of things, keeping repairs done, etc. You won't enjoy total freedom while still a home owner.
Out here in California in my neck of the woods we have seen very little change in the housing market situation. My guess is that it will take a few years for the market to finish making corrections. So if you decide to keep the house, you can expect to be holding it a long time before you are happy with the appraisal.
We own a condo outright, and it's worth less now than when purchased back in 1985. Like you, we can't give it away, so we are going to hang on and wait for the market.
Racerguy said
10:20 AM Jul 11, 2011
My opinion and mine only but if you can sell now and come out even or a little ahead I would jump on it.Once again, MY OPINION, the housing market is heading for another downturn as long as the current climate in Washington stays the same.
GENECOP said
11:13 AM Jul 11, 2011
We are opting to rent in the current climate, reasons as follows 1- While we know the market may not return fully, we do think that it will bounce back somewhat. 2- We will be prepared to sell when the market changes. Challenges of renting 1- Getting a good tenant 2- Having someone manage the property for you
I have good rental contracts filed somewhere, also offering a discount for Prepaying the year is something I will be offering.....
Luvglass said
11:32 AM Jul 11, 2011
I see it as more of an emotional decision. Project out 5-10-20 years and the worst scenario happens - and you are terminal. Will you look back and wish you were in your house, or on the road???
You only go through this life once, and we have no idea when the end might come. Seize the moment!
RVPAINTER said
12:19 PM Jul 11, 2011
Well said Luvglass!! We are still trying to sell out home and have pretty much settled on a mind set that you describe.
Terry and Jo said
02:19 PM Jul 11, 2011
Jo and I spent 3 years trying to get our house sold before finally being successful. That length of time will make it more difficult for us to actually be completely debt free before we go on the road. We had multiple reasons for going ahead and selling.
1. We went through the process of "settling" the estates of both her parents and mine, thus we didn't want our kids to have to do the same. As it is now, if something happens to us, there is very little they have to get rid of, and they may even choose to keep the RV.
2. We would have never gotten our house paid off before retiring, so we couldn't have stayed in it even if we weren't traveling.
3. Should it be that we end up back in a stix and brix, it will be in a rental. That will still give us some flexibility as to where we live. If we can, we'll rent in a small town. If things with our health deteriorate, we can rent in a city, closer to the necessary health care facilities.
4. Costs will be a lot less with the RV than with a house, owned or rented.
5. We've rented out property that we owned before and renters SELDOM EVER take care of a property that isn't theirs, and sometimes don't even tell the landlord of problems until the problems become a lot more serious.
6. We'll NEVER have to wonder how things are with the stix and brix. Did a storm come through and damage a roof? Did a grass fire get close to and damage or destroy the property? Are there issues with unauthorized people gaining access to the house and using it without anyone's knowledge. (Believe me, we've seen that happen too.)
7. We rented a house once in Amaraillo, Texas and the landlord was hesitant to rent it out. Rightly so, because someone renting from him had overhauled their motorcycle engine on the living room carpet.
8. No place that we are tied to that we have to take time to go deal with. Freedom is another way of saying we can go where and when we want.
I don't know if any of this concernes you, but each was a factor in our decision.
Goog luck and have fun.
Terry
Mallo said
04:12 PM Jul 11, 2011
SLIPSLID-N-AWAY wrote:
How much is it worth to sell your house in order to go full-time. Would you do it if you walked away from sale just breaking even or with very little cash in hand? See 1.
Just had real estate agent come by our house Friday night and from what they are saying about the comp sales in our neighborhood we will practically have to GIVE our house away!See 2
We do not HAVE to sell our house to buy our full-time rig (already got it & it is paid for) but we don't like the idea of letting house go for so little. There is no doubt that it would sell (the agents loved our house).....but to give it away just seems wrong. See 3
We would really love to clear enough after paying off the small balance due on mortgage to put it away for a future purchase of stick-n-bricks when we get too old to full-time or to replace full-time rig when time comes. See 4
Who else had this issue? We just did this on Feb 28th sold for little or no clear cash in hand.
I really feel for you guys. August of oh'ten I talked the Brideandjoy into listing the house on a breakeven basis.
Item 1
Now our situation the house needed work, we had oil heat and the price of diesel was climbing. So while there was a number we wanted to get for it we would not be able to get that number any sonner then Sept of oh'eleven. So taking into account the cost of carry the house for the year the cost of the repairs and subracting them from the number we would like to get we came out ahead of our break even number so we listed for some place in the middle and lo and behold we got an offer and sold months before we would of starting working on the repairs. We were happy.
Item 2
The Realator that came out wanted to list the house for 30K less then I was willing to list it for and 16K less then we sold it for. While they represent the seller they get paid on the sale anything they can talk you into to speed up the sale speeds up their getting paid. And yes maybe they would make more if they listed it for what it would really sell for but if they can talk you into a low ball listing they make money faster.
I had already researched what similar size houses had sold for in our area walked him into the front yard and pointed to house after house that had sold for what I wanted to list for or more. Once he understood that I was going to verify everything he told me we got along fine (trust but verify).
Item 3
A number of people are saying rent and that is good you can go that route I've been a landlord it was stressfull but the Brideandjoy and I took a fair number of dollars out of those houses as income. We also had hideouse repair bills caused by tenents doing damage to the property. It's a personel choice.
Item 4
A lot of people got caught up in the speculitive nature of the housing bubble. We've talked to a number of people out on the road caught like this owe too much on the house or worse don't owe but "It was worth 500K five years ago by god I'm not selling for a penny less someone needs to fix that."
No I'm sorry they don't need to fix that. Willing buyer willing seller... the phrase in real estate when I was investing was always "Cavet Emptor". And before someone points out that is buyer beware and he's selling, I would point out buying expecting to sell at X profit in Y years is one of the things to be wary of.
Mallo
Cindy T said
05:10 PM Jul 11, 2011
Our house is for sale & we know we will be giving it away, if it does sell. But due to several life-changing events that recently happened to us, now is the time for us to try to get out. We could stay here, but why keep watching the house decline in value month after month as we continue to make the big mortgage payment?
After the Great Depression, it took 19 years for housing values to return to pre-Depression standards. It may not take that long this time, but I believe that it will be several years before housing prices go up any significant amount.
Your life can change literally in one heartbeat. And you never know when that moment of change may occur. My husband & I are still in pretty good health, but we're not getting any younger. I don't want to keep paying on an "asset" that is declining in value in addition to doing all the maintenance that goes with it, only to realize in 10 years that I wish I'd been traveling.
It does really grate on me when I think about all the money we're losing on this property, but I can't change the facts. I'd rather give it up now, reduce our expenses, & buy a decent used RV to live in as we travel the country.
Cindy T
janni said
05:27 PM Jul 11, 2011
For me, the meaning of fulltiming is the ability to be mobile all of the time. I know that it has different meaning to different people. I wanted to try this life....a life without the house hanging over my head. If you add up the expenses of keeping it longer(insurance, upkeep, replacing appliances that we all know break, mortgage payments, utilities, etc) I am positive it "costs" more than letting it go and not just financial. If you are not willing to settle and want to stand on your price then so be it. I am willing to "give" to have the full benefit of this lifestyle. I have never felt better than this first year of fulltime! Free at last!
Jake62 said
05:34 PM Jul 11, 2011
Everyone's replies are valid and well thought-out regarding this topic, so let me add another "financial" consideration. Since you state you don't need to sell your residence to purchase your RV (which you have & is paid off) and, you have a low pay-off on your current residence, I believe renting is certainly an option as a financial investment. As a reference, we are currently renting out our residence and although we're in a $200 negative monthly cash-flow situation, the depreciation and write-offs on our taxes more than compensate for this difference. Like you, I could actually sell now and make some money; however, as an investment, I believe that real estate will come back at some point. Yes, it may take a decade, but I wouldn't invest in the stock market unless I had at least five years to recover any downturn. And yes, there are risks with renters, but how would you classify "landlords" regarding wealth?
For reference, I thought it would be "fun" to list something in Wikipedia under "Landlord" "History of landlording" "Landlording may be traced back to the Roman Empire and the manorial system (seignorialism), which began under it — peasants were bound to the land and dependent on their landlords for protection and justice. Under the feudalism such relations became widespread."
As you read everyone's replies, there's no one right situation for everyone since it's based on their financial portfolio; however, "real estate" is still considered an investment (yes I know it's terrible now, but the stock market, bond market, commodities, all have their "risks" with ups/downs). Many financial planners at the major Investment Firms still advise their clients to have some portion of their investments in real estate. So, if you don't "need" to sell your residence to financially support your RV lifestyle, why not wait it out for at least the next 12-36 months or more. It sounds like you may even return to it one day and, keeping the residence doesn't financially preclude you from traveling now, therefore you're able to enjoy your dreams right now.
Good luck with your decision!
SLIPSLID-N-AWAY said
10:46 AM Jul 12, 2011
thanks for all the responses
DH & I have decided that since we are not 100% sure the fulltime lifestyle is what we are meant to do (even though all of our vacations since we married 8 years ago have been camping vacations that we did NOT want to end) we will keep the house & go on our 1st trip starting oct 1, come home the end of dec for christmas, go out again after christmas..coming back in spring. if those trips convince us that we really do want to go FULLTIME, then we will do all needed repairs on house in spring & put it on market....
luckily we have children close by that can keep an eye on the house for us
PS....I am the one that is about 99.9% sure this is what I want to do. DH is about 80%
PSS....for those of you who rent out your home......property management company or do it yourself?????
Jake62 said
04:51 PM Jul 12, 2011
I interviewed several property managers at my residence who were referred to me by friends and business associates and checked their references. I would have been comfortable using the property manager I selected; however, as fate would have it, right before I listed with this property manager, a good friend referred a couple our way who was interested in renting our property. Since this couple was a high-profile couple in the public eye who did not want any issues regarding a "bad renter's reputation", no criminal record issues, and I knew their income level, I am managing my property dealing directly with the renters when they need something.
I'm more than 2,000 away; however, I established all my points-of-contact prior to leaving (like electrician, plumbing, mechanical, etc) and I obtained a pool service and landscape company. I also ensured my residence was in excellent shape prior to renting out so I re-painted the outside, re-coated the roof (flat roof), re-coated the driveway, and replaced all my drip irrigation.
So far, our washer has given out but the renter has their own so that was no big deal. Due to the extreme cold weather this last winter (at least for Tucson) we lost three trees and so I'm getting bids to remove and replace these trees. Not a big deal in this day & age of the internet. I'm sure other things may go wrong, but they would probably go wrong if I were there anyway. This way, the rental income I receive more than makes up for what I've invested in "sprucing up" my property in the first place and the other rental income goes to paying down my mortgage.
Also, I have work associates and neighbors who I can contact to "check-up" on the property.
All-in-all, so far, so good.
SLIPSLID-N-AWAY said
06:09 AM Jul 13, 2011
jake2
what, specifically, do you have the landscape & pool companies do? do you not require your renters to mow grass & maintain the pool? I am very interested in how you handle this. we have a great yard & pool and would like to keep it that way even if we end up renting out our property.
Ckerr said
08:14 AM Jul 13, 2011
Our plan right now is to rent the house. Primarily to maintain the rental income into retirement. Most likely we will use an excellent property management company I know. Unless we happen into a situation like Tim and Cindy did. In that case, we'd switch to property managers with tenant #2.
Wayne, Linda & Gizmo -- The decision whether to have tenants maintain the landscape or pay for it yourself is a personal one. Generally speaking, the more extensive the landscape maintenance required, the better off you are paying for it and rolling the cost into the rent. Also, higher end rentals are more likely to include maintenance.
motorcycle jack said
03:56 PM Jul 13, 2011
I will tell you this but everyone on here will not believe me. Listing agents use "comps" to try and lower the price to "make a sale". Selling agents will use the appraisal and "sell" your house. I've sold over a dozen (well over a dozen) houses in all types of markets from 1970 to today. Find out what your house is worth, hire a professional appraiser and stick with the price. It will sell when the right person walks through it. If you want to dump it then listen to everyone else.
Jake62 said
04:52 PM Jul 13, 2011
SlipSlide-N-Away (Interesting name),
First, we don't have any grass in our yard. Like most houses in Tucson, we have decorative "rock" with plants/trees in both the front & backt which is watered with our automatic irrigation system. Therefore, my landscaper simply comes once a month to check on my irrigation for the plants/trees, pull weeds, and trim the trees/bushes. No more than two hours per month. So, with all your grass, you'll either need to include that in the rental price of your residence and have the tenants cut your grass or simply increase your rental price and tell the renters they have no responsibility for landscaping. It's certainly a matter for a negotiation point if the renters don't want to take care of your landscaping or if they want to save $100 a month to do the work themselves. However, if you "trust" them to take care of it then if the grass dies or trees, etc., that has to be taken into account. Our yard is much more "maintenance free" than many in other parts of the country. We pay our landscaper $60 a month (for an hour & a half) which is a good deal since others wanted to charge about $100-$125 for 2-3 hours per month.
Our pool & spa are "in-ground" and I have an "in-floor" cleaning system. So, my pool company comes once a week, ensures the pool is chemically balanced, cleans the skimmer baskets and, once every three months, backwashes the DE filter. Not sure what type of filter you have or if you have an in-floor cleaning system or "creepy crawler" that cleans your pool. If you don't have either, you'll pay more for the pool company to thoroughly clean your pool weekly. If you're in a Northern State, you may decide to drain your pool for the winter and not worry about the maintenance issue. However, in Tucson, our pools are 12-month maintenance pools. We pay our pool company $85 per month.
My bottom, probably like you, I spent a lot of money on our pool and landscaping (yes, even without grass!) and didn't want to chance our renters messing it up so I pay professionals and adjust the rent accordingly. Most renters appreciate not having to upkeep the property, after all, they're just renting and they don't care about the upkeep as much as you do.
How much is it worth to sell your house in order to go full-time. Would you do it if you walked away from sale just breaking even or with very little cash in hand?
Just had real estate agent come by our house Friday night and from what they are saying about the comp sales in our neighborhood we will practically have to GIVE our house away!
We do not HAVE to sell our house to buy our full-time rig (already got it & it is paid for) but we don't like the idea of letting house go for so little. There is no doubt that it would sell (the agents loved our house).....but to give it away just seems wrong.
We would really love to clear enough after paying off the small balance due on mortgage to put it away for a future purchase of stick-n-bricks when we get too old to full-time or to replace full-time rig when time comes.
Who else had this issue?
On the flip side, no doubt you will be "thinking" about the house while traveling, are the renters taking care of things, keeping repairs done, etc. You won't enjoy total freedom while still a home owner.
Out here in California in my neck of the woods we have seen very little change in the housing market situation. My guess is that it will take a few years for the market to finish making corrections. So if you decide to keep the house, you can expect to be holding it a long time before you are happy with the appraisal.
We own a condo outright, and it's worth less now than when purchased back in 1985. Like you, we can't give it away, so we are going to hang on and wait for the market.
My opinion and mine only but if you can sell now and come out even or a little ahead I would jump on it.Once again, MY OPINION, the housing market is heading for another downturn as long as the current climate in Washington stays the same.
1- While we know the market may not return fully, we do think that it will bounce back somewhat.
2- We will be prepared to sell when the market changes.
Challenges of renting
1- Getting a good tenant
2- Having someone manage the property for you
I have good rental contracts filed somewhere, also offering a discount for Prepaying the year is something I will be offering.....
You only go through this life once, and we have no idea when the end might come. Seize the moment!
Jo and I spent 3 years trying to get our house sold before finally being successful. That length of time will make it more difficult for us to actually be completely debt free before we go on the road. We had multiple reasons for going ahead and selling.
1. We went through the process of "settling" the estates of both her parents and mine, thus we didn't want our kids to have to do the same. As it is now, if something happens to us, there is very little they have to get rid of, and they may even choose to keep the RV.
2. We would have never gotten our house paid off before retiring, so we couldn't have stayed in it even if we weren't traveling.
3. Should it be that we end up back in a stix and brix, it will be in a rental. That will still give us some flexibility as to where we live. If we can, we'll rent in a small town. If things with our health deteriorate, we can rent in a city, closer to the necessary health care facilities.
4. Costs will be a lot less with the RV than with a house, owned or rented.
5. We've rented out property that we owned before and renters SELDOM EVER take care of a property that isn't theirs, and sometimes don't even tell the landlord of problems until the problems become a lot more serious.
6. We'll NEVER have to wonder how things are with the stix and brix. Did a storm come through and damage a roof? Did a grass fire get close to and damage or destroy the property? Are there issues with unauthorized people gaining access to the house and using it without anyone's knowledge. (Believe me, we've seen that happen too.)
7. We rented a house once in Amaraillo, Texas and the landlord was hesitant to rent it out. Rightly so, because someone renting from him had overhauled their motorcycle engine on the living room carpet.
8. No place that we are tied to that we have to take time to go deal with. Freedom is another way of saying we can go where and when we want.
I don't know if any of this concernes you, but each was a factor in our decision.
Goog luck and have fun.
Terry
I really feel for you guys. August of oh'ten I talked the Brideandjoy into listing the house on a breakeven basis.
Item 1
Now our situation the house needed work, we had oil heat and the price of diesel was climbing. So while there was a number we wanted to get for it we would not be able to get that number any sonner then Sept of oh'eleven. So taking into account the cost of carry the house for the year the cost of the repairs and subracting them from the number we would like to get we came out ahead of our break even number so we listed for some place in the middle and lo and behold we got an offer and sold months before we would of starting working on the repairs. We were happy.
Item 2
The Realator that came out wanted to list the house for 30K less then I was willing to list it for and 16K less then we sold it for. While they represent the seller they get paid on the sale anything they can talk you into to speed up the sale speeds up their getting paid. And yes maybe they would make more if they listed it for what it would really sell for but if they can talk you into a low ball listing they make money faster.
I had already researched what similar size houses had sold for in our area walked him into the front yard and pointed to house after house that had sold for what I wanted to list for or more. Once he understood that I was going to verify everything he told me we got along fine (trust but verify).
Item 3
A number of people are saying rent and that is good you can go that route I've been a landlord it was stressfull but the Brideandjoy and I took a fair number of dollars out of those houses as income. We also had hideouse repair bills caused by tenents doing damage to the property. It's a personel choice.
Item 4
A lot of people got caught up in the speculitive nature of the housing bubble. We've talked to a number of people out on the road caught like this owe too much on the house or worse don't owe but "It was worth 500K five years ago by god I'm not selling for a penny less someone needs to fix that."
No I'm sorry they don't need to fix that. Willing buyer willing seller... the phrase in real estate when I was investing was always "Cavet Emptor". And before someone points out that is buyer beware and he's selling, I would point out buying expecting to sell at X profit in Y years is one of the things to be wary of.
Mallo
Our house is for sale & we know we will be giving it away, if it does sell. But due to several life-changing events that recently happened to us, now is the time for us to try to get out. We could stay here, but why keep watching the house decline in value month after month as we continue to make the big mortgage payment?
After the Great Depression, it took 19 years for housing values to return to pre-Depression standards. It may not take that long this time, but I believe that it will be several years before housing prices go up any significant amount.
Your life can change literally in one heartbeat. And you never know when that moment of change may occur. My husband & I are still in pretty good health, but we're not getting any younger. I don't want to keep paying on an "asset" that is declining in value in addition to doing all the maintenance that goes with it, only to realize in 10 years that I wish I'd been traveling.
It does really grate on me when I think about all the money we're losing on this property, but I can't change the facts. I'd rather give it up now, reduce our expenses, & buy a decent used RV to live in as we travel the country.
Cindy T
I have never felt better than this first year of fulltime! Free at last!
Everyone's replies are valid and well thought-out regarding this topic, so let me add another "financial" consideration. Since you state you don't need to sell your residence to purchase your RV (which you have & is paid off) and, you have a low pay-off on your current residence, I believe renting is certainly an option as a financial investment. As a reference, we are currently renting out our residence and although we're in a $200 negative monthly cash-flow situation, the depreciation and write-offs on our taxes more than compensate for this difference. Like you, I could actually sell now and make some money; however, as an investment, I believe that real estate will come back at some point. Yes, it may take a decade, but I wouldn't invest in the stock market unless I had at least five years to recover any downturn. And yes, there are risks with renters, but how would you classify "landlords" regarding wealth?
For reference, I thought it would be "fun" to list something in Wikipedia under "Landlord"
"History of landlording"
"Landlording may be traced back to the Roman Empire and the manorial system (seignorialism), which began under it — peasants were bound to the land and dependent on their landlords for protection and justice. Under the feudalism such relations became widespread."
As you read everyone's replies, there's no one right situation for everyone since it's based on their financial portfolio; however, "real estate" is still considered an investment (yes I know it's terrible now, but the stock market, bond market, commodities, all have their "risks" with ups/downs). Many financial planners at the major Investment Firms still advise their clients to have some portion of their investments in real estate. So, if you don't "need" to sell your residence to financially support your RV lifestyle, why not wait it out for at least the next 12-36 months or more. It sounds like you may even return to it one day and, keeping the residence doesn't financially preclude you from traveling now, therefore you're able to enjoy your dreams right now.
Good luck with your decision!
DH & I have decided that since we are not 100% sure the fulltime lifestyle is what we are meant to do (even though all of our vacations since we married 8 years ago have been camping vacations that we did NOT want to end) we will keep the house & go on our 1st trip starting oct 1, come home the end of dec for christmas, go out again after christmas..coming back in spring. if those trips convince us that we really do want to go FULLTIME, then we will do all needed repairs on house in spring & put it on market....
luckily we have children close by that can keep an eye on the house for us
PS....I am the one that is about 99.9% sure this is what I want to do. DH is about 80%
PSS....for those of you who rent out your home......property management company or do it yourself?????
I'm more than 2,000 away; however, I established all my points-of-contact prior to leaving (like electrician, plumbing, mechanical, etc) and I obtained a pool service and landscape company. I also ensured my residence was in excellent shape prior to renting out so I re-painted the outside, re-coated the roof (flat roof), re-coated the driveway, and replaced all my drip irrigation.
So far, our washer has given out but the renter has their own so that was no big deal. Due to the extreme cold weather this last winter (at least for Tucson) we lost three trees and so I'm getting bids to remove and replace these trees. Not a big deal in this day & age of the internet. I'm sure other things may go wrong, but they would probably go wrong if I were there anyway. This way, the rental income I receive more than makes up for what I've invested in "sprucing up" my property in the first place and the other rental income goes to paying down my mortgage.
Also, I have work associates and neighbors who I can contact to "check-up" on the property.
All-in-all, so far, so good.
jake2
what, specifically, do you have the landscape & pool companies do? do you not require your renters to mow grass & maintain the pool? I am very interested in how you handle this. we have a great yard & pool and would like to keep it that way even if we end up renting out our property.
Wayne, Linda & Gizmo -- The decision whether to have tenants maintain the landscape or pay for it yourself is a personal one. Generally speaking, the more extensive the landscape maintenance required, the better off you are paying for it and rolling the cost into the rent. Also, higher end rentals are more likely to include maintenance.
SlipSlide-N-Away (Interesting name),
First, we don't have any grass in our yard. Like most houses in Tucson, we have decorative "rock" with plants/trees in both the front & backt which is watered with our automatic irrigation system. Therefore, my landscaper simply comes once a month to check on my irrigation for the plants/trees, pull weeds, and trim the trees/bushes. No more than two hours per month. So, with all your grass, you'll either need to include that in the rental price of your residence and have the tenants cut your grass or simply increase your rental price and tell the renters they have no responsibility for landscaping. It's certainly a matter for a negotiation point if the renters don't want to take care of your landscaping or if they want to save $100 a month to do the work themselves. However, if you "trust" them to take care of it then if the grass dies or trees, etc., that has to be taken into account. Our yard is much more "maintenance free" than many in other parts of the country. We pay our landscaper $60 a month (for an hour & a half) which is a good deal since others wanted to charge about $100-$125 for 2-3 hours per month.
Our pool & spa are "in-ground" and I have an "in-floor" cleaning system. So, my pool company comes once a week, ensures the pool is chemically balanced, cleans the skimmer baskets and, once every three months, backwashes the DE filter. Not sure what type of filter you have or if you have an in-floor cleaning system or "creepy crawler" that cleans your pool. If you don't have either, you'll pay more for the pool company to thoroughly clean your pool weekly. If you're in a Northern State, you may decide to drain your pool for the winter and not worry about the maintenance issue. However, in Tucson, our pools are 12-month maintenance pools. We pay our pool company $85 per month.
My bottom, probably like you, I spent a lot of money on our pool and landscaping (yes, even without grass!) and didn't want to chance our renters messing it up so I pay professionals and adjust the rent accordingly. Most renters appreciate not having to upkeep the property, after all, they're just renting and they don't care about the upkeep as much as you do.