Real Estate Agent · Arlington, VA · Member since 2014 · 78 posts · 37 votes
Hi Everyone,
I am going back and forth on renting or selling our primary residence. The mortgage is $3505 a month and we can rent it for about $3900. The principal gets paid down by about 1k per month. The only issue is that money will be tight since we are only putting 10% down on our new home and the payment will be high. The primary house is in an excellent location walking distance to shopping, restaurants and metro, so I know that a long term hold may be worth it. It will require about 8-10k for a new paint job before we rent it though.
On the other hand, if we sold the house, we would be losing around 20k after realtor fees, closing costs, etc. What do you guys think?
Investor · Woodbridge, VA · Member since 2015 · 476 posts · 197 votes
11y
I think that if you put 10K into it and have another 10K that you would be losing anyway to cover any months that you don't have tenants you should rent it until you can break even atleast.
10K reserve will net you atleast 3 months of no rent coming in and if your home is really that desirable then you should have not problem renting it in just a few weeks. it certainly beats the hell out of losing 20K outright.
Real Estate Agent · Arlington, VA · Member since 2014 · 78 posts · 37 votes
11y
Thanks Kevin. Yeah, that's what I was thinking too. Pentagon city is undergoing a lot of good changes and they are putting a Whole Foods walking distance down the street. You can't beat that.