Cheaper rent than mortgage Tampa area

[Calvin Alardo]

Hi,

I recently bought a townhome in temple terrace Tampa in 2022. I am looking to rent it out but the mortgage including the HOA is 2,000. The market in the area seems pretty competitive with some nice apartments costing around 2,000 for rent so I am considering renting it out for cheaper maybe 1.8/1.9 so it doesn't sit too long on the market. The townhome itself is decent but nothing high end. Hoping to get some insight from some more experienced investors?

[Alacia Mahnken]

Quote from @Calvin Alardo:

Quote from @Alacia Mahnken:

Quote from @Calvin Alardo:

Hi,

I recently bought a townhome in temple terrace Tampa in 2022. I am looking to rent it out but the mortgage including the HOA is 2,000. The market in the area seems pretty competitive with some nice apartments costing around 2,000 for rent so I am considering renting it out for cheaper maybe 1.8/1.9 so it doesn't sit too long on the market. The townhome itself is decent but nothing high end. Hoping to get some insight from some more experienced investors?

What is your goal? Are you currently living there and you want to move somewhere else but you can’t sell it?

Negative cash flow is not something I’d be okay with, but I know there are some instances where people are okay with taking a small hit for a big pay off with the appreciation (and hopes that the rent will go up). Unfortunately, you also need to  account for expenditures other than your debt service…I.e. repairs, vacancy, etc. usually people assume these as a percentage into their calculation. It would be a no-go for me. 

Is it more than one bedroom? If so, you could consider renting by the room to increase your gross monthly rent. Just a thought of other ways to make this deal viable. 

Thank you for your response! 


it’s a 3 bedroom and about a mile away from USF so we considered that but the rooms are different sizes so I didn’t know if that would be a deal breaker for renting to college kids? 

long term I’d simply be okay with owning a few rentals for passive income and retirement. We are actually planning on moving in a couple months so we are trying to decide what to do with the property. I mentioned the temple terrace area because there are plans to expand similar to downtown Tampa. They are going to call it “uptown tampa” so I feel like the equity will increase in the long term that will pay off the negative cash flow I might have ibeginning. 

 I would rent by room for positive cash flow. Rooms don’t have to be the same size. You could adjust the price based on size. 
Tampa is definitely an appreciating market, but why not take both the appreciation and the cash flow?