Guides for owners · Seattle, Bellevue and the Eastside
You own one house. Here is how to decide what to do with it.
In short
Decide rent or sell first, with both numbers on the table. Then the cost: 8%, 9% or 10% of rent at RexMont, one month's rent for placement. Then the rules: the 2026 cap, the notice days, just cause, deposits. Then the rent read from live lease data and your city's page. Every guide below is written by the team that manages and sells these homes, with the rule cited by section.
Updated · Adriano Tori, Designated Broker
Page author
Adriano Tori
Founder & Designated Broker — RexMont Real Estate · WA Lic. #27660
Adriano Tori leads RexMont Real Estate, the Bellevue brokerage that manages single-family rentals across Seattle and the Eastside and lists the same homes when the owner is ready to sell. The guides on this page are his and Property Manager Grisel Castro's, written for the owner of one house.
1 · Decide
Rent it out or sell it?
The question has a deadline: the federal capital-gains exclusion lasts three years after you move out. These guides put the numbers and the clock in front of you.
Rent it or sell it: the capital-gains clock →
The 2-of-5-year test, the 3-year sell-by window after you move out, depreciation recapture and the Washington exemption, with a Bellevue example.
Relocating and keeping the house →
The accidental landlord's 60-day plan from offer to move, the remote-owner checklist, the tax clock and the rent.
Is a property manager worth it for one house in Seattle? →
The honest math: fee, vacancy cost per week, the cost of one bad placement, hours per month, when to self-manage.
Is a property manager worth it for one house in Bellevue? →
The same arithmetic at Bellevue rents and Bellevue rules.
Self-managing vs a property manager on the Eastside →
The side-by-side for Bellevue, Kirkland and Redmond: time, cost, risk, net income.
How to rent out your house in Seattle →
RRIO, the business licence, pricing, first-in-time screening, deposits and the lease, step by step.
2 · Cost
What it costs
Published, not quoted after the form: 8% Essential, 9% Professional, 10% Platinum Concierge of rent collected; one month's rent for a new placement; 50%–75% of a month at renewal; no vacancy fee; six written guarantees.
3 · Rules
The rules, by city and by section
Washington caps annual increases at 9.683% for 2026 with 90 days' notice, ends tenancies only for cause, and sets the deposit procedure; Seattle, Kirkland and Redmond add their own notice days and move-in caps. Each page below cites the RCW or city code section and the date it was read.
4 · The rent
What your house rents for
The RexMont rent read is built from the active and recently leased homes near yours with the same bedroom count, not from an automated estimate, and it comes back with the comps attached. Ask for it on your city's page; the monthly rental-market reports show what is leasing and how fast.
RexMont Rent Read
What would your house rent for? Get the RexMont Rent Read.
Your monthly rent range in seconds, next to what the home would sell for today and the rent-vs-sell math. Estimate, not an appraisal.
Estimate, not an appraisal. Rents from RexMont’s licensed NWMLS data and licensed rental comps; the full read with the comps goes by email.
Next step
The rent read above, then the city page.
The number comes back with the comps, next to the sale value, from the team that will manage the house or sell it. The city pages carry the full scope and the intake form.
Your property management team
The people managing your rental.
Grisel Castro
Property Manager · WA Lic. #137529
Leads leasing, pricing, renewals, and owner strategy
Real people, not a call center. Adriano Tori, Designated Broker (WA Lic. #27660), is accountable for every account.
In writing, in the management agreement
Six written guarantees on every account.
- Paid-on-Performance Guarantee
- 30-Day Leasing Guarantee
- 12-Month Tenant Guarantee
- Eviction Fee Guarantee
- Pet Damage Guarantee
- Fair Exit Guarantee
Certain conditions apply. Full guarantee terms.
FAQ
Owners' first questions
Should I rent out my house or sell it?
Run both numbers: the rent the house commands from live lease comps against its sale value, the net rent after vacancy, maintenance and management for the next 36 months, and the tax cost of selling in month 36 versus today. The federal capital-gains exclusion lasts 3 years after you move out, so renting first and selling inside the window is a real option with a deadline.
How much does property management cost in Seattle and on the Eastside?
RexMont's published plans are 8%, 9% or 10% of rent collected, one month's rent for a new placement and 50%–75% of a month at renewal, with no vacancy fee. Market ranges for every fee type are on the cost page.
What are the main 2026 rules for a Washington landlord?
No rent increase in the first 12 months and a cap of 9.683% for 2026 (10% for 2027) with 90 days' written notice statewide (120 or 180 days in Kirkland and Redmond, 180 in Seattle); a tenancy ends only for a cause in RCW 59.18.650; deposits need a written lease, a signed checklist, a trust account and an itemized return within 30 days; Seattle adds RRIO registration, first-in-time screening and a one-month move-in cap.
How is the rent for my house set?
From the active and recently leased homes near yours with the same bedroom count, adjusted for condition and season, and checked against how long comparable homes took to lease. The read comes back with the comps attached from the city property management page.
Who at RexMont handles property management?
Grisel Castro, Property Manager (WA Lic. #137529), who works in English, Spanish, Mandarin and Russian, with Adriano Tori, Founder and Designated Broker (WA Lic. #27660), accountable for every account. The team details, pricing, guarantees and offices are on the property management about page.