Knowing when to cut your losses

[Anonymous]

I was at a very similar stage with our condo. We "made" a 100 dollars every month and had good tenants but I wanted to sell. We were due to lose around 25k and my DH didn't want to swallow that pill so we held. Then within a 12 month time period we had to replace a toliet, a dishwasher and an AC unit. THEN we sold (losing 27k plus all those additional expenses).

[Anonymous]

Think long term not short term.

[VArealtor]

Anonymous wrote:We have been renting out our condo for the past 3 years. Financially we break even on the rental, minus the time it takes to get it ready for the next renter and small fixes here and there. So far nothing major has happened, but i dread having to sink any money into this place. My husband wants to keep renting it out, but I am ready to just cut our losses and move on. I don't see the condo market increasing in the foreseeable future or for us to even be able to sell it for what we paid. Right now it looks like we'd lose around $30K if were were to sell- factoring in the difference in what we paid versus could sell for and realtor fees. So not an easy pill to swallow, but I feel like we'd lose even more info we hold onto it longer- kitchen is older and there could be more damage from renting. How do we decide what to do? What would you do?

Oh and we would not have to pay our losses out of pocket as we have enough equity in the condo that we would end up getting a chunk of money back.

What neighborhood/market, OP? A lot of your decision will depend on that, the condition of your condo (ie chances for maintenance issues in the near future), and your financial standing. Sure, there's a possibility that the house might appreciate but factor in how that appreciation compare to inflation? maintenance? loss of income during vacancy?

How long have you had the property? Why does your husband want to hold onto to it? Because he believes that housing appreciates (not necessarily) or for another reason that's not cited here like the ability to use the condo instead of dorms for soon to be college-aged children (this may save you money)?

My brother lost a total of 60k (between maintenance & depreciation) for holding on to an 'investment' for too long. Real estate, like all other investment opportunities, are gambles. Sometimes they pay off, other times they don't. You just have to decide if it makes financial sense to hold onto to it.

[Anonymous]

I agree with the "hold" recommendation. How many years into the mortgage are you? The longer you're into the mortgage, the greater the amount that each monthly payment goes towards the principle rather than interest. So as the years go by, the rent will pay down principle at a greater rate, increasing your equity at a greater rate even if the value doesn't rise. (And in Arlington, it should at least stay stable.) As well, you can increase your rent year by year - even without making improvements, the rental market in most areas of the city is strong enough to do this.

[Anonymous]

I would hold onto it. My parents owned a condo in this area and I came back from college and moved into it. It was great. I would love to be able to do the same thing for our daughter. A cheap place to live is a real draw to a new grad these days.