House still not selling after 3 months on MLS
I'm a licensed broker, not looking for realtors.
This is a rental property I've owned for 10 years. The repairs for plumbing have been 20K over the years. I also have an underground oil tank for the furnace. Roof will need to be replaced as well. 40-60K sewer line replacement coming up eventually too (found out when I recently had to pay 12K to cut into the concrete in the basement to fix drain pipe sections).
I had given my tenant notice to move out and listed it, but after dropping the price from 660 to 615K over the past three months, it's still not selling. Tours have drastically slowed. Feedback is that the house is on a busy street. It's a two way street, busy but not a huge 4 lane street or anything.
I'm considering relisting it at the end of July and trying to find a tenant again, lest I carry the mortgage all winter. Between capital gains taxes, transaction costs, and depreciation recapture, my expenses to replace the furnace and decomission the oil tank will be about what my expenses selling it will be. I can try again another year.
I'm trying to offload my portfolio. I have another rental for sale right now, also not a lot of tours in this market. I've had exactly one tour to date. I waited too long to sell. I'm getting out of real estate and more into index funds, which are performing better. I have more rentals to offload.
Thoughts? Delist and rent out again?
Most Popular Reply
You've got a lot going on with this property between the plumbing, the oil tank, the roof, and the potential sewer line. I think the bigger question is whether the property still makes sense to own. A slow market by itself wouldn't necessarily push me to sell, but I also wouldn't keep putting money into a property just because I've owned it for 10 years. I'd look at it based on what you know today, not what you've already spent on it. Sometimes the best investment decision is the one that frees up your capital for something that better fits your goals.