Rent or Sale?

[Fletcher Shawn]

Hi All,

This is my first post on the forum. I have read many books on real-estate investing over the past few years and talk with people in the field whenever I have the opportunity. I have been listening to the pod cast for the past few months. We are in a unique situation and would love some input.

We own a house that is currently up for sale $240,000 In Portland Oregon. 3 bed, 1 bath, .27 acer lot in 97233 zip code.  We owe $74,000 on the property. I think it could rent for $1,450.

The mortgage is $700 per month on a 30 year fixed. We are about $80,000 in debt with college loans, credit cards, and some personal loans that we took out in order to facilitate our recent move overseas. My new job offers personal loans at 4.5% APR. I am considering taking out the loan to get out of debt and then renting the house. We have gone back and forth between renting and selling. If we sold we would likely move back to the states in two year in the hopes of buying another property with the proceeds from our sale after the market possibly cools down. I will list out some of the factors.

• We will have $ to cover the Mortgage on a monthly basis even if we don’t have a renter.
• We fixed everything on the house before leaving in preparation to sale the house.
• The house sold for $268,000 but fell through twice. The first buyers backed out in the inspection period. The second buyer ran into issues with financing.
• My sister works for a reputable property manager and we can get a good value for the service.
• The house has doubled in value since we bought it two years ago and I am concerned we may be looking at the peak of the market. I also think there is a high probability of inflation...  These two things seem to indicate moves in opposite directions.
• Our house in in a relatively rough neighborhood (Rockwood).

That seems to be the information that would be most helpful. Would love to hear your insights.

• Do we rent or sale?
• Should I be worried about capital gains if we decide to rent?
• What questions should I be asking that I am not asking?

Thanks,

Shawn