Please note: This article is general information to help you frame the decision. It is not tax, legal, or financial advice — an inherited property touches all three, and your CPA and attorney should see your actual numbers.
The rental math, done honestly
Start with realistic rent — what similar houses nearby actually lease for, not the highest listing you saw. Then subtract everything, monthly: property taxes (higher than the previous owner paid, because inherited property is reassessed and the old homestead protections may not carry over), insurance — in Florida this is the line that shocks people, landlord policies on older coastal homes are expensive — maintenance and reserves for the roof and AC that will come due on your watch, vacancy between tenants, and property management if you're not local (typically around 8–10% of rent). What's left is your real return. Compare it to what the house is worth: if a $420,000 house nets you $900 a month after everything, that's about 2.6% a year before appreciation — and you should ask whether you'd buy this house today, at this price, as an investment. If not, renting it is just owning an investment you wouldn't choose.
The selling math, done honestly
Selling has one underappreciated tax feature: inherited property generally receives a stepped-up basis to its value at the date of death, so selling reasonably soon usually means little or no capital gains tax (general information, not advice — confirm your situation). Against that: you get the full value out now, split cleanly among heirs, with no ongoing costs, no tenants, and no 2 a.m. plumbing calls. What you give up is future appreciation and rental income — real things, worth naming rather than waving away. Our probate guide covers the mechanics of getting to a sale in selling an inherited house.
