5 Costly Moving Mistakes Real Estate Experts Warn Homeowners Against

Moving is exciting—but a whole lot can go wrong, too.

No matter your reason for relocating, you'll need to brace yourself for some tough decisions.

From the timing of selling your old place to figuring out where to store all your stuff, experts agree that there are a number of things that are overlooked by homeowners during a move.

Here's their advice to make sure you're not one of them!

Mistake 1: Renting out your old home badly

It may seem smart to hold on to your old place. After all, short-term rentals are all the rage right now—and you might even be able to find a long-term tenant and start collecting rent on the place.

But that's the best-case scenario; you need to also consider the worst case.

“Renting out a home can be a great investment—if you know what you're doing,” says real estate investor Mark Ferguson of Investfourmore.com. “The problem is, many people have no idea how to manage renting a home—like collecting rent and checking on tenants."

Other landlord duties include maintenance, managing vacancies, and anticipating expenses.

"Landlords have to account for monetary outlays beyond what the rental payment covers, so some houses won't make money as rentals,” adds Ferguson.

To avoid this pitfall, ensure you have a plan to manage your home remotely and that you can afford to keep paying the mortgage on your old place—and your new place!

Mistake 2: Selling your home prematurely

Robert Palmer, host of the syndicated Saving Thousands Radio Network, talks up the opposite of renting.

“Selling years from now is going to net you more money than selling today, and someone else will have made the [mortgage] payments for you,” says Palmer. “This helps you build wealth.”

The key is the right tenant, like a friend or somebody you know. Bottom line: If your home is in a hot market like Los Angeles or New York City, it might be impossible to buy back into the market should you ever decide to return to it. This happens more often than you might think.

“In L.A., it's not uncommon for rental amounts to be more than the mortgage payments,” says Terra Andersen, director of internet marketing at apartment-rental company NMS Properties. In that case, it might be wiser to rent out your home as a revenue stream and a fallback option.

Mistake 3: Muddling a mortgage on a new home

If you're relocating for a new job and want to buy a home before you start working, be sure to structure your employment agreement to avoid issues with lenders.

While an executed offer of employment can serve as documentation to qualify for a new mortgage, many lenders will require proof that all the offer contingencies have been met as well, says Mary Catchur, president of Marimark Mortgage.

A solution is to work with a mortgage loan originator licensed in the state you're relocating to and develop a plan to fulfill those requirements, “preferably before finalizing the new job offer,” says Catchur.

Mistake 4: Storing stuff for 'someday'

Tempted to leave behind lots of your possessions to transport months or maybe years after you're settled?

If you're certain a relocation is permanent, it's best to move everything right away. Paying hundreds, even thousands, of dollars to keep items in storage could be a colossal waste of money in the long run.

“From a realistic standpoint, it’s easy to forget about items in storage,” points out Christine Haney, executive vice president of Global Relocation at Elliman Real Estate. “When my father was transferred to Europe, my parents stored their 1970s gold, brown, and green furniture. When they returned eight years later, their now-retro furniture had no place in their new home.”

Mistake 5: Expecting your stuff to arrive ASAP

If you do pack up and send off everything all at once, don't push it too close to the day you start a new job or endeavor, expecting all your possessions to arrive at one time.

“It can take a few days, if not a week or two, for all your belongings to arrive at your new home, due to weather or road shutdowns,” says Ryan Carrigan, co-founder of moveBuddha.

And if you're stuff arrives late, now you're shelling out even more money on essentials or even renting furniture if you need the house to be liveable by a specific date.

So pack a starter kit with whatever essentials you need for a week, and always keep important documents with you.