Need your expert advice! Selling a very good rental vs holding

Need your expert advice! Selling a very good rental vs holding

Investor · Madison, WI · Member since 2017 · 5 posts · 0 votes

Hey everyone! I am desperate for some of your expert advice here, I am 29 and relatively new to real estate investing. So I have been doing some serious debating for a while now on whether to sell one of my very good cash flowing 4 bedroom 4 bathroom single family rentals in the hot, in my opinion overpriced, Madison, Wi area for a large profit and reinvest the profit into a larger property or to hold onto it and keep the cash flow coming in. My current long term renters are moving out in 30 days and that is what has spurred this big decision.

Here are the numbers and the situation we are in, we have about 60k into this property comparables are selling in my area for 160k-180k so we are set up to make a large profit if we decide to sell and reinvest the profit in a larger multi family property, the downside is it is very hard to find a good deal in this area and we would most likely have to over pay in order to find a 1031 exchange property.

Rent is $1,000 per month, there is no mortgage, taxes $3,500 with the tenants paying all the utilities so the cash flow is very solid and it will be fairly easy to rent in our hot market. The downside to holding on to this property is it will need new windows and a new deck in the next 5 years and is on 3/4 acre lot so mowing and yard work are a challenge to have the tenants take care of. Also it has 4 bathrooms which makes it a maintenance struggle for a single family but good when it comes to reselling.

So am I an idiot for selling such a good cash flowing property when my real estate strategy is buy and hold? Or should I be taking advantage of this hot market and sell this property at a peak selling price? Grrrrrr this has been keeping me up the past few nights any and all of your advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

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Rental Property Investor · Caledonia, IL · Member since 2015 · 289 posts · 213 votes
8y

# 1 CY Proverb " You can never lose money by taking a profit!".Madison about 50 minutes due north from me and our market also overpriced for SFR homes we like to add to our portfolio. Couple of questions / comments

1.) What are your short term 1 year medium 3-5 years and long range objectives 5+ years and how does holding vs selling into these plans?

2.) I am a huge fan of rehabbing like new when we purchase anything so there is minimal maintenance on any of our 30+ SFR. In 2017 we spent on average $47/month / unit with an average value of $110k. The comments you made about some repairs would be a concern windows deck etc...

3.) Have you scoured the market with a Realtor who specializes in your market with investors? I would start here and also get an accurate value for the prop.

4.) Another alternative - I think your best is to do the rehab now and force more equity then sell - reinvest . Madison was very stable thru the correction - head south to Janseville or go 20 minutes in all 4 directions for better values on your purchase after sale.

Happy hunting!

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  • Rental Property Investor · Caledonia, IL · Member since 2015 · 289 posts · 213 votes
    8y

    # 1 CY Proverb " You can never lose money by taking a profit!".Madison about 50 minutes due north from me and our market also overpriced for SFR homes we like to add to our portfolio. Couple of questions / comments

    1.) What are your short term 1 year medium 3-5 years and long range objectives 5+ years and how does holding vs selling into these plans?

    2.) I am a huge fan of rehabbing like new when we purchase anything so there is minimal maintenance on any of our 30+ SFR. In 2017 we spent on average $47/month / unit with an average value of $110k. The comments you made about some repairs would be a concern windows deck etc...

    3.) Have you scoured the market with a Realtor who specializes in your market with investors? I would start here and also get an accurate value for the prop.

    4.) Another alternative - I think your best is to do the rehab now and force more equity then sell - reinvest . Madison was very stable thru the correction - head south to Janseville or go 20 minutes in all 4 directions for better values on your purchase after sale.

    Happy hunting!

  • Rental Property Investor · Boise/Portland · Member since 2017 · 709 posts · 742 votes
    8y
    Originally posted by @Taylor Hellenbrand:

    So am I an idiot for selling such a good cash flowing property when my real estate strategy is buy and hold?

    I recently proposed a similar question regarding an SFH that I own outright with healthy cashflow vs selling it and buying two other properties. Received healthy opposing comments; some with excellent advice, but I went with those who advised me to hang on to it and not sell - based on my buy and hold strategy. I tend to hesitate in giving advice, but I'll go out on a limb and suggest that you may have answered your own question. You said that your strategy is "buy and hold." And, you have good cash flow. Isn't this what you're striving for?

  • Rental Property Investor · St. Petersburg, FL · Member since 2017 · 3k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    8y
    You're making about 6% return on your $60k. If you can find a property or properties that will yield a better return, I'd sell. The taxes vs. rent are killing you on that property
  • Real Estate Broker · Greer, SC · Member since 2013 · 548 posts · 271 votes
    8y

    If you wouldn't buy it again today for what you can get (net) for it now, why would you keep it?   You are a cash buyer with 150kish for the next 2 or 3 houses.  Or a down payment on a 500k deal. 

    You are rebuying  your current cash flow for 150k, if you keep. What's your return on equity that's tied up?  Jessica from Hawaii has helped.   5k per year.   Us boys from SC calculate that at about 3%.

  • Real Estate Broker · Greer, SC · Member since 2013 · 548 posts · 271 votes
    8y

    I copied this from a search on real estate ROE:

    Return on Equity (ROE) ratio calculates the amount of return generated in a particular year on the total amount of equity invested (or trapped) in a property.

    The amount invested (or denominator) is calculated as the initial investment (down payment) plus the entire increase in net property’s appreciation and the entire decrease in outstanding loan balance incurred prior to the year the ratio is being calculated.

    Cash-on-Cash Return is a similar calculation, but since the two draw backs of the traditional Cash-on-Cash Return are that property appreciation and principal debt payments are not factored into the formula, Return on Equity adds these two components to the traditional Cash-on-Cash Return calculation.

    A property’s net equity increase is calculated by determining what the “Net Sale Proceeds after Taxes” would be at the beginning of a year, and then again at the end of the year. The difference between these two numbers is that year’s net appreciation and principal debt payments less sales expenses and income taxes.

    The numerator of the formula is the property’s cash flow and increase in the equity for that year. This captures the net rental cash flow for a particular year, and adds that year’s net equity increase (net appreciation and principal payment or debt pay down).

    Formula

    Annual Cash Flow + Net Increase in Property’s Equity

    Divided by

    Accumulated Equity Prior to Year

  • Member since 2016 · 13k+ posts · 12k+ votes
    8y

    A SFH with high equity and what appears to be only average cash flow either needs to be sold or refinanced to pull the maximum equity out to reinvest. $1000 rent on a $180K property will never produce true positive cash flow.

    The opportunity value at 10% return on $180 K is $1500/month. This property is so deep into negative cash flow that it is not a investment by any stretch of the imagination.

    With what optimistically is $400/month positive cash flow it is costing you $3.75 for every dollar you are earning.

    This property is a terrible investment. Sell, sell, sell.

  • Taylor HellenbrandPro Member
    OP
    Investor · Madison, WI · Member since 2017 · 5 posts · 0 votes
    8y

    Thanks for all of the awesome advice guys I really appreciate it!

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