Need Advice: My Rental Property Hasn’t Appreciated After 1 Year — What Would You Do?

[Nir H.]

Hey BP Community,

Looking for some advice and perspective from experienced investors.

I bought a property in Stockbridge, GA about a year ago for $225,000. It looked like a solid long-term investment at the time, but I’m starting to question if it was the right move.

Here's where I stand:

Purchase Price: $225,000

Current Value (After 1 Year): Still around $225,000 — no appreciation so far.

Total Investment So Far: Around $70,000 (including down payment, closing costs, agent fees, light renovations, etc.)

Cash Flow: Only about $200/month before expenses (not including reserves, maintenance, vacancy, etc.)

Tenants: I’ve already had 2 tenants in 1 year — both have moved out, which has added some headaches and turnover costs.

If I Sell Today: After agent commission and selling costs, I’d walk away with about $40,000, which means I’d be down ~$30,000 from what I’ve invested.

My original goal was long-term passive income, but at this point, I’m wondering if I should:

1. Hold and hope for appreciation + better tenant stability, or

2. Sell now, cut my losses, and re-deploy the cash into something with better returns or less friction.

This has been a bit discouraging, and I don’t want to make emotional decisions — just looking for input from others who’ve maybe been through something similar.

Any thoughts?

What would you do in my situation?

Thanks in advance!

[Matthew Masoud]

That's not how it works. Real estate grows over periods of time not in any one given year. 

If you take a snapshot of one point in time and look back 12 months it might be negative or flat but if you look back over 5-10 years,

it's almost never down.