Done being a landlord in Louisiana? Options, and the tax questions

What are my options if I want to stop being a landlord?

Three, in plain order.

1. Keep it. If the rent still covers the work, you do not have to sell. Nobody on this site will tell you the house is a bad investment. We have not seen your numbers.
2. Sell it with the tenant in place. You do not have to evict anyone first. After closing, the buyer is the landlord. Our page for tired landlords is that path with us.
3. Sell it empty. If the house is already vacant, or the lease has ended, you can sell it as it sits, including with damage. You do not have to repair it to sell it to us.

A fourth idea, a 1031 exchange into another rental, is a tax plan. It has deadlines and it has to be set up before closing. That is a CPA and a qualified intermediary, not us.

What to ask a CPA before you sell

Selling a rental is not the same, for taxes, as selling a house you lived in. We are not tax advisors. Take this list to your CPA before you sign.

• Capital gains. A profit may be taxed. The IRS explains the idea on its page about capital gains and losses.
• Depreciation. If you took depreciation, or could have, part of the gain may be treated differently when you sell. IRS Publication 544 is the publication people hand a CPA.
• A 1031 exchange. Rolling the proceeds into another investment property can defer tax in some cases. The deadlines are strict, and the exchange has to be arranged before closing. The same Publication 544 is where the IRS describes like-kind exchanges.
• Louisiana tax. The state may treat the sale in its own way. Your CPA files that, not a website.

Our longer notes on leases, deposits and these same tax headings are in selling a rental house in Louisiana. Read that for the lease. Read this page for the decision to get out.

Selling to us when you are done

Tell us whether a tenant is there, what the lease says, and what shape the house is in. We buy rentals as they sit. You do not have to paint, evict, or clean the house out first.

Sometimes we pay cash. Sometimes we take over the payments. Cash is not promised on every house. You pick the closing date. We charge you no fee. Closing costs are still real, and our closing cost guide lists what usually comes out.

We buy in Shreveport, Bossier City, Keithville, the parishes around them, and Marshall, Texas. A Bossier rental is on the Bossier City page. A Marshall rental is on the Marshall page.

Updated November 2, 2026