Negative Cash Flow Rental Property

[Brian DeLorme]

Greetings, I wish I had discovered Biggerpockets sooner!  I'm a brand new real estate investor, and it sort of happened by accident.  I purchased a home last year for myself (350K) in the central coast area of California, but had to relocate for job reasons.  So I rented it out using a property manager, but my cash flow is negative $500 per month.  I have only approximately 23K in equity at the moment.  I have become completely interested in real estate / rental property investing since I purchased this home...and am wondering what you guys think some next steps for me would be to change this negative cash flow and begin purchasing additional rental properties.  I also co-own a home 50/50 (also central coast California, with about 100K in equity) with a friend that we currently live in; we rent one of the rooms out to a tenant for 1200 per month.  Any info is greatly appreciated.  I'm so thankful for all of you here on Biggerpockets!

[Hai Loc]

Is the monthly principal more then the negative $500 a month? Is the property appreciating?

If the answer is no to both then your are better off unloading it.. 

Pouring $500 a month into something that you can never get access to unless you sell or refi is not good

A lot of investors in Toronto encounter this dilemma but principal covers negative cash flow and they bank on appreciation.