Need help: Sell under value or keep holding it

[Gianfranco D'agostino]

Hi everyone, my name is Gianfranco, i live in Panama, Panamá.

I've adquired a mortgage for a rental property located in Playa Blanca, Coclé, Panamá like 5 years ago.

The thing is i bought it for USD 150,000.00 (it was my first investment on real estate), but as things go now, people with the same properties at that location are selling theirs at a very low price, like 90 to 110k for properties even larger than mine.

So using the average sqft2 my property could have a value of 90k.

Of course i would not be happy to sell it at that price.

But, the short term rentals here in Panamá has been through hard times. I am making like $300 per month and the single mortgage payment is $760.

I know i made a few (maybe many) mistakes, but i really don't know what to do.

I don't know if i should hold it untill better times comes or sell it today at current market prices. Any advice will be well received. Thanks in advance. And thanks God for this site.

[Michael Baum]

Hi @Gianfranco D'agostino. That is a tough one man. I guess the first thing I would look at is can you afford to hold it? You are getting something out of it to take a bit of the edge off the mortgage. If it isn't a huge burden, then keeping it until things turn around is more viable.

What about a long term renter? What is that market like in Panama? Maybe that would be a way to go until things start to turn around.

I did a quick look and there are several sites that specialize in Panamanian real estate trends and investing. You are there so you would really know, but maybe these will have some insight as to where things will go.

https://www.panamaequity.com/exploring-living-in-p...

I completely agree that it is hard to take such a loss on an investment. If you can afford to hold it, maybe get a long term renter in there to cover the mortgage, that might help you weather the storm. Good luck!