Sell home at a loss or refinance and turn into rental property
Hello,
I'm new here and really have no real estate experience. My husband and I bought a home in 2008 for $162,000. We are military and moved out of the country in 2013 and tried to sell but probably priced it too high, so we ended up renting it out for 2 years (at a loss, we were able to get our monthly mortgage payments covered, but had to pay $100 monthly out of pocket for management fees). We ended up moving back in 2015. We are now set to move again this summer.
I've had agents come out and they all tell me I wouldn't be able to sell without paying (we could probably get what we owe on our mortgage, but would end up paying closing costs and commission out of pocket). Should we sell at a loss, or keep it as an investment property?
If we kept it, we are looking to refinance at a lower rate (from 5.875 to 3.5%). We would like to pay it off as quickly as possible and could probably swing the payments for a 10 year mortgage, but would be paying $400 monthly out of pocket even if we had renters. So if we do refinance, should we pay it off quickly and pay out of pocket, or take a longer term and make a little profit monthly?
And if we do decided to keep the house, i worry about all the unforeseen expenses (repairs and upgrades, not having someone to rent it out, etc).
Help!!! Thank you.