If you own a house in Pittsburg, Antioch, Brentwood, Oakley, Bay Point or Concord and you are weighing a sale against renting it out, two numbers decide it: what you would walk away with after selling, and what you would keep each month after renting. Our Essentials listing service includes a sell, rent or hold comparison for your home. This page shows how to find both numbers yourself, and what changes the answer.
Three paths, side by side
| Path | What you get | What it costs | The rule that matters | What our team does |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sell on the open market | Cash from the sale after the mortgage payoff, selling costs and tax | Our Essentials listing fee is flat by sale-price band: $9,995 under $500,000, $11,995 from $500,000 to $749,999, $14,995 from $750,000 to $999,999. Fees are negotiable and not set by law | Home sale exclusion needs 24 months of living in the house within the last 5 years | Your broker prices the home, runs every showing and offer, and the team handles the seller disclosure package and escrow coordination through closing |
| Keep it as a rental | Monthly rent after the mortgage, tax, insurance, repairs and empty months | Core management: 8 percent of rent collected, $195 minimum, plus 50 percent of one month to place a new resident | Each month rented after you move out uses up part of your 5-year window | Runs the rental: leasing, rent collection and maintenance coordination |
| Sell to your resident | A sale without a public listing, if the resident wants the house and qualifies | Disclosures, sale paperwork and repair requests still apply | Same tax rules as any other sale | Coordinates the lease, the disclosures and the sale paperwork with the resident in place |
Management prices are from our pricing page. Listing fees are from our listing pricing page: they cover the listing side only, buyer-agent pay is separate, and homes at $1,000,000 and up get a written custom quote.
Run the numbers yourself in five steps
- Check whether you still qualify for the home sale exclusion. You need 24 months of living in the house within the 5 years before the sale date, and if you already moved out, that clock is running.
- Write down what a sale would leave you: the sale price, minus your mortgage payoff, the listing fee, other selling costs and the tax your CPA estimates.
- Write down what renting would leave you each month: the rent, minus the mortgage payment, property tax, insurance, a set-aside for repairs and management (8 percent of rent, $195 minimum, if someone runs it for you).
- Add the one-time costs of renting: placing a new resident, and the months the house may sit empty.
- Put the two results side by side and ask which one fits your plans, then take both to your CPA.
You can try the rental side in our rent vs. sell calculator. We run the same comparison for owners as part of our Essentials listing service.
A worked example with our published fees
Take a house that would sell for $600,000 and rent for $2,750 a month. Both numbers are assumptions for this example, not a forecast. The fees are the published ones.
- Selling: our Essentials listing fee for a price from $500,000 to $749,999 is $11,995, one time. Buyer-agent pay, the mortgage payoff and tax come on top.
- Renting for 3 years on the Core plan: management is $220 a month, which is $7,920, plus $1,375 to place the first resident. That is $9,295. Repairs, empty months and insurance come on top.
Fees are the smaller part of this decision. Next to up to $250,000 of gain the exclusion can remove, $11,995 and $9,295 are small, so the clock matters more. In this example you lived in the house for 36 months in a row, then moved out. Counting back 60 months from the sale date, you keep 24 months of living there only if you sell within 36 months of moving out. A lease that runs past that date puts the exclusion at risk.
What selling leaves you with
Start with the sale price. Take off the mortgage payoff, the costs of selling and the tax. Our Essentials listing service includes a sell, rent or hold comparison for your home. On the tax side, three federal rules do most of the work:
- The home sale exclusion. You may exclude up to $250,000 of gain, or $500,000 on a joint return, if you passed both the ownership test and the use test: at least 24 months of each within the last 5 years (IRS Topic 701).
- Depreciation. Once a house is a rental, the tax rules count depreciation on it, and the exclusion does not cover gain equal to depreciation "allowed or allowable" after May 6, 1997. That is the amount you took or could have taken (IRS Publication 523). Federal tax on that part is capped at 25 percent (IRS Topic 409).
- The rest of the gain. For most people the federal rate is no higher than 15 percent, and some gain is taxed at 0 percent or 20 percent depending on income (IRS Topic 409). A 3.8 percent surtax can also apply at higher incomes, and the FAQs below explain when.
Your California return has its own rules for the sale. Ask a certified public accountant (CPA) to run the federal and California numbers on your own return before you list.
What keeping it costs
Count the mortgage, property tax, insurance, repairs and the months the house sits empty. Then add management, if someone else runs the rental. Here is Croskey's published Core plan at $2,750 of rent, the starting rent in our rent vs. sell calculator:
- Monthly management: 8 percent of rent collected, with a $195 minimum. That is $220 a month, or $2,640 a year.
- Placing a new resident: 50 percent of one month of rent, with a $1,300 minimum and a $1,750 maximum. That is $1,375.
- First year with a new resident: $4,015 in management and leasing fees.
Other plans and per-event fees are on the pricing page. Repairs, vacancy and insurance come on top of those numbers, and a house with no resident earns no rent.
Rent rules matter too. State law (Assembly Bill 1482) limits yearly rent increases and requires a reason to end a tenancy for many, but not all, rentals, and Antioch and Concord add city rules. Check what applies to your house before you count on a rent increase.
The 5-year clock
The tax break above needs 24 months of living in the house within the 5 years before you sell. Those 5 years do not stop when you move out. They keep counting back from the sale date.
IRS Publication 523 gives an example. An owner moved out, rented the house for a little over two years, then sold. The owner still met the ownership and use tests and could exclude up to $250,000 of gain, but not the part equal to the depreciation claimed or that could have been claimed for the rental (IRS Publication 523).
So the question is not only rent or sell. It is also when. Count the months you lived in the house during the last 5 years. If you are close to the line, check the date with a CPA before you sign a lease.
Here is the arithmetic that sets your deadline. Take the months you lived in the house during the 60 months before you moved out, and subtract 24. What is left is how many months you can rent it and still sell with the exclusion intact. If the lease you are about to sign would run past that number, talk to a CPA before you sign it.
A third path: sell to your resident
In one rental we managed in Contra Costa County, the owner was ready to sell and the resident bought the house from the owner. It never went on the open market. Our team coordinated the disclosures, the sale paperwork, the repair requests, the buyer's agent details and the owner's questions.
A sale like that is the exception, not the rule. The resident has to want the house, qualify and agree on a price. Selling with residents in place means coordinating the lease, maintenance, financial records, cleanup and minor repairs through the sale. Our listing team asks the management team to send the residents a notice that the owner is selling, along with a tenant estoppel certificate (the standard California Association of Realtors form where a resident confirms in writing the rent, the deposit, the lease end date and that the lease has not changed), and to complete a conditions assessment so the owner's disclosures are accurate. Our page on tenant-occupied sales lists what we coordinate: showings, notice requirements and buyer verification. Our White Glove listing tier includes coordination with tenants in place, including showing notices (listing pricing page).
Why not just use an online estimate, sell on your own or call the first agent?
- An online estimate is a guess from public data. It does not see your roof, your resident's lease or the condition of the house, and it says nothing about taxes or rent.
- Selling on your own means you carry the disclosures, the sale paperwork and the negotiation yourself, plus the rental paperwork if a resident lives there.
- The first agent who calls may get you a price, but not always the comparison that tells you whether to sell at all. Ours starts with that comparison.
- Waiting by default is a choice with a cost. Every month after you move out, rented or empty, comes off your 5-year clock, and waiting does not tell you which path pays more.
Which path fits your numbers?
The right answer depends on your numbers, not on a rule of thumb. Our Essentials listing service includes a sell, rent or hold comparison for your home, so you decide with real figures. Here is what usually points toward selling, and what usually points toward keeping the house:
- You need the cash for something else.
- After the mortgage, taxes, insurance, repairs and empty months, the house leaves you little or nothing each month.
- You are close to the end of the 5-year window.
- You do not want to run a rental, or pay someone to.
Keeping the house usually fits when:
- The rent covers every cost with room to spare.
- You can wait for the cash.
- Your mortgage rate is lower than the rates you could get today.
- You have counted the months in your 5-year window and are comfortable with them.
If your numbers say hold, hold. A listing that should not happen is not one we want.
Find out what a sale would bring
Start with your number: get your home value, then take the result and your rental numbers to your CPA.
This article is general information, not tax or legal advice, current as of November 10, 2026 and based on IRS pages for the 2025 tax year. Croskey Real Estate is a licensed California brokerage (DRE #01990430), not a tax firm or law firm. Tax rules change and depend on your facts. Confirm what applies to you with a certified public accountant before you act. Equal Housing Opportunity.
Sources
- IRS, Topic 701, Sale of your home, page last reviewed November 9, 2026: https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc701 (read November 10, 2026)
- IRS, Publication 523 (2025), Selling Your Home, last reviewed April 30, 2026: https://www.irs.gov/publications/p523 (read November 10, 2026)
- IRS, Topic 409, Capital gains and losses, thresholds for taxable years beginning in 2025: https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc409 (read November 10, 2026)
- IRS, Topic 559, Net investment income tax: https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc559 (read November 10, 2026)
- Croskey Property Management pricing, Core plan, reviewed November 8, 2026: https://croskeypm.com/pricing (read November 10, 2026)
- Croskey Real Estate listing pricing, reviewed November 8, 2026: https://croskeyrealestate.com/listing-pricing (read November 10, 2026)
- Croskey Real Estate, selling a home with a tenant: https://croskeyrealestate.com/tenant-occupied-sales (read November 10, 2026)
Frequently asked questions
Can I rent my house out for a while and still sell it with the home sale exclusion?
It can work. You need to have owned the house and lived in it at least 24 months within the 5 years before the sale. IRS Publication 523 gives an example of an owner who moved out, rented for a little over two years, then sold and could still exclude up to $250,000. The exclusion does not cover the part of the gain equal to depreciation allowed or allowable after May 6, 1997. Ask a certified public accountant to check your dates.
What is depreciation recapture on a house I rented out?
While a house is a rental, the tax rules count depreciation on it, which lowers its tax basis. When you sell, the part of your gain that equals that depreciation is not covered by the home sale exclusion. Under IRS Topic 409, unrecaptured section 1250 gain is taxed at a maximum 25 percent rate. The rule counts depreciation allowed or allowable, so skipping the deduction does not avoid it.
Do I owe the 3.8 percent net investment income tax when I sell?
Maybe. IRS Topic 559 says the tax applies to the lesser of your net investment income or the amount your modified adjusted gross income is above $200,000 for a single filer or $250,000 on a joint return. Gain on a main home that the home sale exclusion removes is not counted. Ask a certified public accountant how it applies to your sale.
How much does it cost to keep a house as a rental with Croskey managing it?
On the Core plan, management is 8 percent of rent collected with a $195 monthly minimum, and placing a new resident is 50 percent of one month of rent with a $1,300 minimum and a $1,750 maximum. At a $2,750 rent that is $220 a month and $1,375 for a new resident, or $4,015 in the first year with a new resident. Prices were reviewed November 8, 2026 and are on croskeypm.com/pricing, along with the other plans.
Can I sell my rented house to my resident?
Yes, it can happen. In one rental we managed in Contra Costa County, the resident bought the house from the owner without it going on the open market. It is the exception: the resident has to want the house, qualify and agree on a price, and the owner still owes the required disclosures. Our page on tenant-occupied sales explains how a sale with residents in place is handled.
Should I sell my house or keep it as a rental?
It depends on two numbers: what you would walk away with after selling, and what you would keep each month after renting. Needing the cash, a thin monthly number or a closing 5-year window usually point toward selling. Rent that covers every cost, and no need for the cash, usually point toward keeping the house. Our Essentials listing service includes a sell, rent or hold comparison for your home. Check your 5-year window for the home sale exclusion before you decide, and ask a certified public accountant to run the tax numbers.
Does California limit how much I can raise the rent on a house?
For many rentals, yes. Assembly Bill 1482 limits yearly rent increases and requires a reason to end a tenancy, but some houses are exempt and some cities, including Antioch and Concord, add their own rules. Find out which rules cover your house before you plan your rent.
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