Vacant Condo — sell or keep???

[Rachel De Villava]

I’ve been pondering whether or not to hold onto a condo that I’ve had since 2008. It was my first home which I converted to a rental in 2010. It cash flows ~$450/mo. when it’s not vacant. But that’s the issue I’ve run into — it takes about a month to secure a new tenant once one moves out. So the question is should I hold onto it or sell and use the equity to purchase another small multi-family). I’ve moved in that direction w/ recent purchases because of the fact that if one tenant moves out, rent from the other units offset that.

Here are the numbers if that helps. I should mention too that I’m managing it long-distance.

Purchase price in 2008: $145K

Current value ~$170K

Equity ~$45K

Monthly cash flow when rented ~$450