Rent It or Sell It?

How we figure it

• Sell now: the sale price minus the mortgage payoff, the agent commission, other closing costs and any fix-up. That money grows at the yearly return you enter.
• Rent it: each year's rent (less the weeks it sits empty each time a tenant moves out), minus Eclipse's fees, the mortgage payment, property taxes, insurance, HOA dues and upkeep, plus the tax savings from depreciation. That cash is assumed to grow at the same yearly return as the sale money, so both sides are treated alike. In the year you compare, the home is sold at its grown value, minus the same selling costs, the loan balance left and an estimate of depreciation recapture tax.
• Eclipse fees come from our published pricing: on the Landlord plan (1 to 4 units), 12% of the rent collected with a $157 monthly minimum (charged while it is empty, too), $497 for each new lease, $397 for each renewal and $297 one-time setup; on the Investor plan (5 or more units), 9.6% of the rent collected with a $127 monthly minimum (charged while it is empty, too), $297 for each new lease, $97 for each renewal and $147 one-time setup. See PM Pricing.
• The yearly return on renting is the internal rate of return on the money you would leave in the house: what you would walk away with by selling today, counted as money you put in.

Where the starting numbers come from

• Home value growth, 4% a year: Grand Junction area home prices rose about 4.2% a year over the 20 years through mid-2026, and Alamosa County about 4.1% a year over the 20 years through 2025 (FHFA House Price Index). The last 10 years were faster, but included the unusual 2020 to 2022 run.
• Rent growth, 3.5% a year: the U.S. rent index rose about 3.5% a year over the 20 years through 2025 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index, rent of primary residence).
• Years a tenant stays, 3: about one in four U.S. renters moved in within the last year, and about a third have stayed five years or more (Redfin, 2023 Census data). Houses tend to keep tenants longer than large apartment buildings.
• Weeks empty between tenants, 2: counted only in the years a tenant changes, including year 1 while the first tenant is found. Change it if your home will take longer to rent.
• Agent commission, 5.5%: 2025 and 2026 surveys put the average total paid by U.S. sellers at about 5.4% to 5.5% (Clever Real Estate). It is negotiable.
• Other closing costs, 1%: in Colorado the seller usually pays for the title insurance policy the buyer receives, plus part of the closing fees. Your title company can give you the real number.
• Upkeep, 1% of value a year: a common rule of thumb for home repairs. Older homes often need more.
• Colorado tax rate, 4.4%: the flat rate for tax year 2026, as of November 2026 (Colorado Department of Revenue).
• Return on the sale money, 7%: a common long-run planning number for a stock index fund. It is not a promise; change it to whatever you expect.

This calculator is for comparing choices. It is not tax, legal or investment advice, and it does not predict what your home will sell or rent for. The values you enter are your own estimates, not an appraisal.