Flip or Rent

[Ryan M.]

I purchased a 4 bedroom property in January that I planned on rehabbing to sell as my first flip.  The purchase price was  $63K which the bank that owned the property gave me as a 1 year 2.99% portfolio loan.  I went a bit over budget on the rehab, as I put in about $34K total of my own cash.  My rehab goal was $25K.  It has been listed on the market now for over 2 months at $125K and I am now considering renting out instead of lowering the price to a point where the profit would be quite low.  I have read a lot more about how the profit is taxed on a flip since I purchased the property, and I am now considering trying to get a better margin on the next flip or trying buy and hold.  My question is should I lower the price to a point that would get it sold and I would make very little, or rent it out.  Rent in the area would be about $1K to  per month, and the mortgage + insurance is $695 per month.  Also, is there a way to recoup any of the cash that I put in for the rehab?  Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Ryan Matthews