Not Cash Flowing in AZ — Looking for Insight from Experienced Investors

[William Miller]

Hey everyone  I wanted to throw this out there and hopefully get some honest feedback from folks who’ve been in the game longer than I have.

I have a rental in Arizona that I’ve held for a few years. Right now, the mortgage is around $1,479 and I’m renting it for $1,895. On the surface it looks like it cash flows, but when I factor in reserves (30% for vacancy, maintenance, management, etc.), I’m actually operating negative every month.

I’ve run the numbers a few different ways, and unless I’m missing something, it just doesn’t work long-term if I want to scale. I’m trying to follow the BRRRR method and build real wealth, not just hold onto properties that “look good” on paper.

The tenants are still in place and I’ve been debating whether to:

• Sell it and free up equity
• Try to raise rent (market may not support much more)
• Hold and hope for appreciation

I’d love to hear how others have navigated situations like this. Do you dump underperforming rentals to scale faster? Is there a better way to structure this so it performs?

Appreciate any real insight — just trying to do this right and surround myself with people actually doing it.

Thanks in advance.

– Will