"Let's rent it out and keep the asset" is the instinctive answer — but the maths behind that conclusion is almost never complete. Real net yield, the flat's condition, taxes and the cost of being landlords together: let's do the sums in full.
Once the inheritance is settled (if you are still deadlocked with your siblings, read this other article first), the second big question arrives: what do we do with the flat — rent it out or sell it? The instinctive answer is usually "rent it, that way we keep the asset and it brings an income". Sometimes that is the right call. But the maths behind that conclusion is almost never complete. Let's do it in full.
The yield you think you get vs. the real yield
The calculation everyone does is simple: monthly rent times twelve, divided by the flat's value. A flat worth €120,000 rented at €700/month seems to yield 7% a year. But that is the gross yield, and renting has costs that reduce it considerably: property tax and community fees (with their levies), insurance, empty months between tenants, repairs and refurbishment between contracts, and taxes on the income. Depending on the flat's condition, the real net yield can easily be half the gross — and that is without counting your time managing incidents.
With the net figure in hand, the honest comparison is: what does that capital earn me rented out versus selling today and putting the money elsewhere (paying down my own mortgage, investing, buying better)? That is the calculation almost nobody does.
The flat's condition: the decisive factor usually ignored
Many inherited flats have gone decades without renovation. Here is the important fork: to rent it well, it probably needs prior investment (kitchen, bathroom, installations, paint); to sell it, perhaps not — there is an active market of buyers looking for a flat to renovate to their taste. Investing €20,000-30,000 to renovate a flat for renting changes the yield completely, and that money must go into the maths from the start. Conversely: renting an old flat "as is" at a low rent tends to attract the tenant profile with the most turnover and defaults, and wears the property down year after year.
With several heirs, renting multiplies the complexity
Selling and splitting closes the inheritance community: each receives their share and decides freely. Renting keeps it alive for years: you will need to agree (in writing) who manages, how income and expenses are split, what happens when a levy or renovation comes up, and what happens when one sibling wants out and the others cannot buy their share. Many family conflicts are born not from the inheritance but from the jointly rented flat ten years later. If you choose to keep it, sign a co-owners' agreement from day one.
Taxes vote too
Without going into figures (every case differs), three tax pieces must be in the maths. First: when selling you will pay income tax on the difference between the value declared in the inheritance and the sale price — that is why the value declared when inheriting matters so much. Second: rental income is taxed every year (with a reduction if it is the tenant's main home). Third: time is not neutral; selling many years after inheriting can generate a larger taxable gain, and the empty flat while you decide also has costs. Good tax advice before deciding is literally worth money.
So, what's best?
It depends on three honest questions. Is the flat fit to rent well without major investment? Do you need or can you make use of the capital now (your own home, debts, other investments)? And are you all willing — every heir — to be landlords for years, with what that involves? Three yeses support renting; a firm no to any of them points to selling.
At Signem we can help you decide with numbers and without preconceptions: we value the flat for free (sale value today and a realistic rent), we present both complete calculations — costs, taxes and scenarios — and we manage whichever option you choose, be it the sale or the rental with our commercial management. The decision is yours; our job is that you take it with full information.
Do you have an inherited flat in Manresa, the Bages or Cerdanya and don't know what to do with it? Ask us for the free double study: sale value and rental income, with the full calculation.