negative property- rent or sell in oregon?

[Lynn Gadd]

We bought our 4th property. Let me start by saying each property we have, we have purchased to live in with the minimum 3-5% (First 2 FHA and last 2 conventional....) We had to move for jobs so we just kept them and turned to rentals.

This 4th property was bought because I just had a baby, we have 3 dogs, and my spouse couldn’t do the commute from vancouver, WA so we bought a house in Beaverton, OR across from work.  9 months living here and it’s way too small and we need a real yard for the dogs- these homes are more like row houses with a small patch of gated soil in the front....

We only put 5% down so we will sell at a loss and rentals here are so cheap, if we rent we will take about $400 a month loss....I now stay at home with the baby and manage our properties- I have a real estate broker license so I can claim the loss....Question is- would it be better to leverage the funding and keep this house even with the negative cash flow or just sell it?

1. house #1 in alabama- fha- pmi comes off soon- profit $150

2. house #2- in round rock, tx-fha- new rules - pmi doesnt come off life of loan- currently managed by company because we had to leave for new job quickly- negative $300 - will cut by half when i manage property after lease 

3. Townhouse, - Vancouver, WA- conventional- loss of $180 (due to hoa and pmi- will be about even once pmi comes off)

4. house #4- beaverton, OR...across from Nike- would be a loss of $400 or more