With the selling season fast approaching, now is the time to put your home on the market. But if the market isn’t ready to support what you want or need out of your home and you either aren’t living in it or it has already been sitting on the market unsuccessfully for some time, you may want to consider another option: renting your home. The experts at Equifax point out that it’s not as simple as just putting a “For Rent” sign in your yard, and that you should be ready for a number of challenges in the new article, “

Preparing to Rent Your Home.”

Putting your home up for rent will require a number of costs, some of which you may already be paying if you have it on the market. Having money ready for the months with no tenant, for regular maintenance and repairs, for emergency repairs, and for damages caused in excess of the tenant’s security deposit are just the start. There’s also insurance, marketing, upkeep and taxes to worry about – and this doesn’t include the effort included to make your home welcoming and presentable for renters. Couple that with the rental market being just as volatile and competitive as the real estate sales market, and you may find that it is not worth your investment to get the rental value out of it, and would be better off pricing it more aggressively for its size, style, location and condition instead. But, if you are prepared to deal with these costs and the effort, renting can be a great way to gain money while waiting for the real estate market to further rebound.

For more personal finance advice, from real estate investment to

credit ratings, check out the wisdom and tools from Equifax.