Buy 2nd property or Sell 1st property and start over?

Buy 2nd property or Sell 1st property and start over?

Real Estate Investor · Annapolis, MD · Member since 2016 · 65 posts · 12 votes
Hello BP! New poster as I have been lurking for awhile now, but after some time researching I feel I am ready to move forward and I would appreciate any advice! I will try to make the backstory quick but if further info is needed, please ask! My wife and I moved into a townhouse 6 years ago. It as a B-/B area. We decided to move a year later but couldn't afford to sell the property so we decided to rent it out. We found a tenant pretty quickly on our own and they stayed for 3 years basically trashing the place. They paid $1,675 / month and our mortgage which I will include the HOA, was $1,650. So we obviously weren't making much money. When they moved out, we rehabbed the house completely with new carpet/paint as it was destroyed. Cost us $6k. Took them to court and only recouped $1,400. We actually found a tenant while the rehab was being done and he's been in there since, being charged $1,725 and is one of the tenants we probably all dream of. Has OCD and takes amazing care of the place. The home was purchased for $220k with a loan amount of $213k. We currently owe around $190k. The comps in the community are selling for $225-230k. The tenant however just yesterday said he has no intention of moving within the next couple years. It's hard to not ride him out as a tenant building more equity right!? We are going to take our personal tax money this year and redo the kitchen/knock a wall down to open it up like other townhouses in the community. Will easily add more value to the house than its cost and we know it will be taken care of. For possible loan information the house we currently live in was purchased at $236k and we owe around $215k with a mortgage payment of $1,530. My question in all of this is that I am itching to get started in finding a property to continue my journey in REI and am trying to figure out my options. In my head, I'm saying to wait this tenant out and then take the equity to use as a down payment on a property that will actually have good cash flow. This could be 2 and a half years from now or even longer pending the tenant. However after reading rich dad, poor dad, I feel I am letting the aspect of the money control me! The second option in my head would be to find a second property and get a hard money lender for the down payment. However I am assuming that a bank would not lend me the additional money for the loan anyways as I already have two in our names. Is this where becoming an LLC is the next step? Should I keep the townhouse and look for property #2? If I do should I sell when the tenant finally does decide to move or should I continue to rent the house after refinancing to a lower mortgage? All thoughts running through my head that need sorting! Any help, suggestions, advice, links is very appreciated as I am here to soak up any information I can gather and advance in my journey! -Tim
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Developer · Houston, TX · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
9y

It's cash flow negative so I don't see a reason to keep it unless you know for sure it's about to shoot up in appreciation so it's worth waiting it out for the equity. What do you think you will achieve by keeping it? I'm not clear.

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  • Developer · Houston, TX · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    9y

    Just because you're renting it out for $1675 and your mortgage is $1650 doesn't mean you're cash flowing $25 a month or $75 a month with your new tenant. There are a lot of operational expenses that easily add up to 40-60% of the rent. Even on the low end of that, 40% means you're really only bringing in $1035 out of that $1725, which means you're cash flow negative. Case in point your $6k you had to put out of pocket already. Even if they hadn't trashed up the place there would have been paint anyway.

    You need to find properties where your 50% of your rent is enough to cover your debt service. If your current place is at market rent then it doesn't seem like this is it, so you're better off selling it.

  • Real Estate Investor · Annapolis, MD · Member since 2016 · 65 posts · 12 votes
    9y
    Thanks Michael Le for the response. Yes I know the property is in the negative after those expenses you mentioned which is why I asked. However should I wait this tenant out and use the equity from the home to find a better property or should I keep that property and look for a 2nd in the mean time while I wait him out?
  • Developer · Houston, TX · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    9y

    It's cash flow negative so I don't see a reason to keep it unless you know for sure it's about to shoot up in appreciation so it's worth waiting it out for the equity. What do you think you will achieve by keeping it? I'm not clear.

  • Real Estate Investor · Annapolis, MD · Member since 2016 · 65 posts · 12 votes
    9y

    Nothing at all. I was just curious if holding off for equity purposes was a possible plan but I agree with you in the logic that it is a negative cash flow, so why keep it. Do you have any insight on purchasing a 2nd property in the mean time with having no money for the down payment/rehab if needed? Is using a hard money lender a viable solution for buy and hold properties? If so, what is the best way to get rid of the loan after you have the property?

  • Developer · Houston, TX · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    9y

    Hard money lenders are not generally viable solutions for buy and hold as their rates are way too high. Usually the plan is to refinance out of HML with a conventional loan. If you have no money at all you will just have to luck out on a seller financed deal. They're not easy to find though. You can also find the deal and bring in an equity partner who will bring the money for a piece of the deal.

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