Have You Ever Regretted Selling a House?

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Have You Ever Regretted Selling a House?

Julie MarquezPro Member
Investor · Skagit County, WA · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 807 votes

This question is for buy and hold investors. My investment plan is to buy the right properties and hold them forever. For me, it's not about quantity and number of deals, but about quality and getting my few properties to cash flow for my retirement.

So my question: Have you ever regretting selling a property and wished you held on to it?

My first rental house, I hope to hold it forever

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David Faulkner
Investor · Orange County, CA · Member since 2015 · 2k+ posts · 3k+ votes
10y

I've not regretted a single house I've bought, but have regretted every one I've sold. Most of that depends on where you buy and a little bit on when you buy (or sell). I still think that selling was the right decision for me personally at the time for one reason or another (time will tell), and still did very well on those investments, but there is still a part of me that regrets it. I did learn a lot about the other side of the transaction by selling, though, so that had value ... particularly, how expensive it is to sell RE with transaction costs, federal capital gains, state tax, obamacare, etc ... way more expensive to sell than it is to buy, and buying ain't cheap.

Having said that, I think that having a pre-meditated plan of your criteria for both buy and sell is important. Constantly reassess that plan, question the underlying assumptions constantly, and adjust where needed, but still have a game plan. Also, what you do with the money if/after you sell is important. If, for example, you find a great deal on a more expensive and more long term profitable property and 1031 exchange, a sell can be great. REI is not checkers, it is more like chess ... the great players always think a few moves in advance.

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  • Al Wilson
    Investor · Daphne, AL · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 242 votes
    10y
    In a word, "yes." Good luck.
    0Reply
  • Rich Baer
    Real Estate Investment Attorney · Kingsville, MD · Member since 2016 · 643 posts · 408 votes
    10y

    @Julie Marquez

    Of course. In 1995 I sold 20 houses in order to end a partnership that wasn't working out for $800,000. The plan was to hold them forever. Today they are worth $5,000,000. That is why I stress that one should try to do their investing solo without partners. No one to blame but yourself.

    1Reply
  • Julie MarquezPro Member
    OP
    Investor · Skagit County, WA · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 807 votes
    10y

    @Rich Baer Interesting that you say no to partnerships, since I know a lot of people on BP love them. I tend to shy away from them because I want to be 100% responsible and reap 100% of the profits. Big loss, but better that you didn't stay in a bad partnership.

    0Reply
  • George P.
    Property Manager · Livonia, MI · Member since 2011 · 4k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    10y

    33 in 6 yrss and just now I have to sell a condo.. I'd LOVE TO keep it, but rules say no rentals in that complex. Darn it! 

    0Reply
  • Sebby Gabre Madhin
    Investor · Mount Dora, FL · Member since 2015 · 92 posts · 44 votes
    10y

    not yet...but I'm sure I will.

    0Reply
  • JD MartinBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Rock Star Extraordinaire · Northeast, TN · Member since 2015 · 10k+ posts · 16k+ votes
    10y

    As my drill commander would have said when I was in boot camp, not only yes but hell yes. I took a beating on a new construct that I could have kept for good profit as a buy and hold when it wasn't working out on the open market. I got spooked and too risk averse, and had too low reserves, and I made what has obviously been a poor choice in retrospect. My combined loss on that one unit, excluding any rental income, just lost appreciation and construction costs, today is somewhere around $200k.

    That's not to say you should never consider selling a unit. Thinking of anything in terms of forever is setting yourself up for disappointment. You should keep the house as long as it remains profitable and part of your overall strategy.

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  • Christine Swaidan
    Investor · Ventura, CA · Member since 2016 · 264 posts · 70 votes
    10y

    we've sold one house to pay off debt. Best thing ever. Capital gains taxes will kill us on all the rest because we have held so long. Have to wait till one of us dies. 

    0Reply
  • Jennifer A.
    Sun Prairie, WI · Member since 2013 · 150 posts · 69 votes
    10y

    Yep. Sold a newer house with 3 car garage as I was struggling to rent it out at the time. In retrospect I should have kept it. I get regular inquiries for people who need a place for 3-6 months while they build. I could have made a killing and they could have stored their belongings in the garage. 

    1Reply
  • Julie MarquezPro Member
    OP
    Investor · Skagit County, WA · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 807 votes
    10y

    @George P. So lesson is to stay away from condos and their association rules.

    @Sebby Gabre Madhin Do you have investment goals to save everything as long as possible?

    @JD Martin Dang, but that's a good lesson to hold it out for the long run.

    @Christine Swaidan So in your situation it was better to pay off the debt than hold on the that house? Otherwise, I hear ya, I don't want to have the selling penalties.

    @Jennifer A. Interesting, so in the long run you can always find a tenant for that off-house. Who wouldn't want a 3 car garage!?!

    0Reply
  • David Faulkner
    Investor · Orange County, CA · Member since 2015 · 2k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    10y

    I've not regretted a single house I've bought, but have regretted every one I've sold. Most of that depends on where you buy and a little bit on when you buy (or sell). I still think that selling was the right decision for me personally at the time for one reason or another (time will tell), and still did very well on those investments, but there is still a part of me that regrets it. I did learn a lot about the other side of the transaction by selling, though, so that had value ... particularly, how expensive it is to sell RE with transaction costs, federal capital gains, state tax, obamacare, etc ... way more expensive to sell than it is to buy, and buying ain't cheap.

    Having said that, I think that having a pre-meditated plan of your criteria for both buy and sell is important. Constantly reassess that plan, question the underlying assumptions constantly, and adjust where needed, but still have a game plan. Also, what you do with the money if/after you sell is important. If, for example, you find a great deal on a more expensive and more long term profitable property and 1031 exchange, a sell can be great. REI is not checkers, it is more like chess ... the great players always think a few moves in advance.

    2Reply
  • Steve Vaughan
    Rental Property Investor · East Wenatchee, WA · Member since 2014 · 10k+ posts · 16k+ votes
    10y

    Yep.  Thanks for reminding me lol!

    My first tenants were awful. Skipped out in the middle of the night. Lied and worked me over good.  Nice 5-bedroom house that I blamed my landlord woes on as an uninformed newb. That was in 2003.

    Thankfully outside pressures (like partners or other financial hardships) haven't driven my decisions since.  I've sold a couple SFRs without regret so far.  I almost sold a couple apt buildings this year and I think we would have regretted that.  

    Thanks for the discussion @Julie Marquez! 

    1Reply
  • Mindy JensenPro Member
    BiggerPockets Money Podcast Host · Longmont, CO · Member since 2014 · 7k+ posts · 10k+ votes
    10y

    @Julie Marquez, another vote for not regretting selling the condo, but regretting selling every other home I've ever sold. 

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  • Julie MarquezPro Member
    OP
    Investor · Skagit County, WA · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 807 votes
    10y

    I know this is a more negative topic, but I want to learn from others as I go into investing for the long term. Thanks everyone for sharing their "dang it" moments, and sometimes glad you did sell in the right circumstance.

    @David Faulkner That's why I am being slow and deliberate about the ones I buy, I don't want to have to come to a crossroad where I might even consider selling. I want them to be long term, safe investments. Having a good plan is key, and a 1031 exchange could be a good way to sell in the future for more growth. Thanks for sharing and helping me think a few moves in advance.

    @Steve Vaughan Glad you didn't sell you apartment buildings! It sounds like people need to stick it out, even when they get discouraged by a bad tenant. It's all good learning experiences.

    @Mindy Jensen I think I'm just going to avoid the whole condo purchases, and keep all my SFR!

    1Reply
  • JD MartinBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Rock Star Extraordinaire · Northeast, TN · Member since 2015 · 10k+ posts · 16k+ votes
    10y
    Originally posted by @Julie Marquez:

    I know this is a more negative topic, but I want to learn from others as I go into investing for the long term. Thanks everyone for sharing their "dang it" moments, and sometimes glad you did sell in the right circumstance.

    @David Faulkner That's why I am being slow and deliberate about the ones I buy, I don't want to have to come to a crossroad where I might even consider selling. I want them to be long term, safe investments. Having a good plan is key, and a 1031 exchange could be a good way to sell in the future for more growth. Thanks for sharing and helping me think a few moves in advance.

    @Steve Vaughan Glad you didn't sell you apartment buildings! It sounds like people need to stick it out, even when they get discouraged by a bad tenant. It's all good learning experiences.

    @Mindy Jensen I think I'm just going to avoid the whole condo purchases, and keep all my SFR!

     It's also good to know why you want to sell a house. Any other reason other than what the cold hard math on the paper says usually means you are making a poor decision based on some emotion. @Steve Vaughan's example is perfect, as is my own example. I had options other than selling but I let the non-analytic side of things take over, which used some of my own real weaknesses (lack of liquidity, for example) against me. 

    I enjoy fixing up houses, and I enjoy looking at well-done rehabs and flips. There's no question there's an emotional component to this stuff, because you're dealing with objects that are brick and mortar and affect people's lives. That said, from a financial point of view, the only reason to buy or sell a house is because the numbers say that it is time to sell. I listened to a book recently that discussed the Air France crash from Brazil. When they finally found the black box, they realized that the plane was operating on auto pilot exactly as it should have been operating, but the "gut feeling" and emotions of the cabin crew led them to choose one wrong option after another, despite the fact that the numbers were telling them they were making the wrong choices. 

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  • Julie MarquezPro Member
    OP
    Investor · Skagit County, WA · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 807 votes
    10y

    @JD Martin As long as your numbers are directing you towards your goals in the correct fashion, it's good to follow that. I just want to make sure those emotions don't come up and that the hard numbers stand out through my investing so I don't have to come to that crossroad. Good, clear numbers will keep the course straight.

    1Reply
  • Russell BrazilBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Real Estate Agent · Washington, D.C. · Member since 2012 · 17k+ posts · 30k+ votes
    10y

    Bought a property in DC 2010/2011 for $410k. Sold in 2013 for $520k. If I'd held on...it would be $700k today

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  • Julie MarquezPro Member
    OP
    Investor · Skagit County, WA · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 807 votes
    10y

    @Russell Brazil I just listened to a BP podcast where the guest said if you hold on to a property for at least 10 years, you will always make money. I guess the longer you hold it, the more money you can make. But maybe you needed to sell for an even better deal. I love the idea of buying and holding for the very long term.

    0Reply
  • John Teachout
    Rental Property Investor · Concord, GA · Member since 2015 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    10y

    I think it is important to realize the difference between a loss and an unrealized gain.

    I can't say I lost 29 million dollars because I didn't buy xxxx shares of WalMart stock back in such and such a year. 

    That said, I've only sold one house in my life and I needed to sell it because I relocated to another part of the country (it was my personal residence). I don't regret selling it. I've purchased one house as an investment that I've regretted. It's a slight regret as I have very little invested in it. (less than 10K). It needs a lot of work, won't rent for much and is out of our primary area. May turn out fine, just wouldn't buy it over if I had a chance.

    1Reply
  • Rick BassettBusiness Member
    Property Manager · Greater New Haven, CT · Member since 2010 · 377 posts · 434 votes
    10y

    We just sold a SFH house that we owned for only 2 years, this was the first property that we sold in nearly 30 years.

    We are big proponents of Buy & Hold but we bought this one right, put a lot of expensive higher-end upgrades in it and rented it profitably for the past 2 years. It was a smaller 2 Bed / 1 Bath house on a very busy street with a crappy lot. We did a FSBO with ideal buyers.

    We decided to take the money off the table along with a tidy $50k profit and put it into another B&H property of similar size and scope in a better area that commands higher rent. We didn't do a 1031 as cost wise it didn't make sense.

    It was a big decision to sell as it runs counter to what we do but it was the right decision. We may do another one in 2017.

    Rick

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  • Julie MarquezPro Member
    OP
    Investor · Skagit County, WA · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 807 votes
    10y

    @John Teachout I'm sure every investor loves the hypothetical situation "if only" I held on, or "if only" I bought that. It's alluring when I pass this house that's appreciated so much and "if only" I bought when it was for sale 3 years ago. Even looking on those past ideas, it helps teach me how to invest now and in the future. So having properties in your primary area is what's important to you.

    @Rick Bassett Interesting, I like learning why long term buy and hold investors do sell, and it sounds like yours worked out nicely. There is no point on holding on to a property when the money could be used for a better investment.

    2Reply
  • David Faulkner
    Investor · Orange County, CA · Member since 2015 · 2k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    10y
    Originally posted by :

    Thanks for sharing and helping me think a few moves in advance.

    Upon further reflection and to extend the analogy ... not only is it important to think a few moves in advance, but it is also important to understand that different pieces move in different ways and have different value at different times; some are good at offense, some are good for defense, no single piece is good or bad, the more pieces you know how to play and preserve or strategically sacrifice the better, it is seeing and knowing how to play the board that matters, and being humble enough to think in percentages with multiple exits rather than absolutes in one ... sorry if you don't care for semi-vague analogies, but I'd personally rather not try to provide answers but find more value in asking interesting questions and posing semi-vague analogies ... answers give information that has a myopic context and limited shelf life, while interesting questions and analogies (hopefully) spark interesting thoughts and interesting discussion ultimately leading to wisdom that helps you, helps me, and helps the community. Then you don't have to blindly salute and follow advice, but can learn to build your own ever growing army that you put to work and give marching orders to win the battle and the war, in the battleground of your choosing, where you are strong and have many allies and your opponents are weak such that you can either sniper them off if need be or better yet use diplomacy to turn them into allies. Cheers!

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  • Julie MarquezPro Member
    OP
    Investor · Skagit County, WA · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 807 votes
    10y

    Thanks @David Faulkner. There is never an absolute answer in real estate (or in life), but people's experiences and stories that can teach you something new. I like what you say about learning how everything moves and works to be able to make the best decisions. I'm usually not one for flowery language, but I appreciate the response because it helps me understand that there is no one right answer. I'm learning a lot in my journey towards my real estate goals.

    0Reply
  • Terri B.Pro Member
    Realtor · Bellevue, Detroit · Member since 2023 · 63 posts · 14 votes
    3y
    Quote from @Julie Marquez:

    @Rich Baer Interesting that you say no to partnerships, since I know a lot of people on BP love them. I tend to shy away from them because I want to be 100% responsible and reap 100% of the profits. Big loss, but better that you didn't stay in a bad partnership.

    0Reply
  • Terri B.Pro Member
    Realtor · Bellevue, Detroit · Member since 2023 · 63 posts · 14 votes
    3y

    Julie YES recently and I'm trying to recover from it. It's the opportunity cost that I did not consider at the time. I've learned the hard now that its important to have a clear strategy and not just act off emotions and speculation. I've squandered a fantastic, rare property and now looking to make it right with a similar deal.

    0Reply
  • Charlotte Torres
    Rental Property Investor · Charlotte · Member since 2019 · 22 posts · 3 votes
    3y

    LOL and I the only one who has regret about NOT buying a house? I had an amazing deal one time that I still think about as 'the one that got away.'

    Maybe we should start a conversation on this forum about that...sigh. 

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