All Forum Posts by: Jamie Farrah

So STR is allowed here and we also have another property in the same complex that we do vacation rentals in. We manage the other property and have had great success through rental sites and have 30/30 5 star reviews. Clearly, we are capable of doing it. Some concerns I have are that we will need to spend some money in this condo to have it rent ready and we are currently trying to purchase our own home that we will likely need to spend money in as well. Additionally, we would need to borrow some money from the family for a 20% down payment if we do keep the current condo. On top of that, I'm not sure that my condo will be as rental friendly as the patio faces a busy road and will have traffic noise when outside on the patio. I'd hate to begin renting it out as a vacation rental and then receive less friendly reviews based on that alone. I feel that if we sold, we could, later on, purchase a property that would be more appealing to the vacation renters with leftover cash from the sale. Other factors include the fact that we can sell now at a higher price and sit on the extra liquid cash if the housing market were to go down in the future. These are the thoughts that I have. On the flip side, spend some money to get the condo rent ready, bite the bullet and get the property paid off and in time it the rental income will be a good source of free-flowing income. I need to make a decision soon!

Need advice please. I have $130,000 equity on my current condo (worth $220,000, owe $90,000). Looking to buy a house now that I'm married. We have the option to rent it out as a vacation rental or sell it all together. As a vacation rental, we could probably make anywhere from $500-$1250 a week depending on the time of year. We could use the money now to put a down payment down on the new house, or try to find other sources of money and continue to pay down the mortgage through rentals. 

I'm very back and forth on both scenarios. Please advise!!!

@Tim Herman $225/mo condo fees. Property taxes are quite low, paying around $1500/year. Vacancy rate is low, usually full/sought out area. Capex could be anywhere in the ballpark of less than $10000 over the next 5 years. If I were to have a 12month lease at $1350/mo and my mortgage payment is $1150 (including condo fees), I earn $200/mo excluding the additional costs that come with renting. Am I missing anything here?

Would it be worth it to have someone pay down the rest of my mortgage while I look for additional sources of money to pay for my down payment on my new home?

Good morning everyone,

I would like some advice. I currently own a 2bed/2bath condo that I purchased back in 2011 for $95,000. I refinanced a couple of times and took money out to remodel the whole place. I now still owe $95,000 with about 10 years left on the loan, however, the condo is now worth $225,000. Now married, we are looking for a house to upgrade but the equity in the condo would be our only means of a down payment. 

The question is; Should we try to find another way to get a down payment(family, etc) and keep the condo and rent it out as a long-term lease or should we just sell it and get the equity out of the condo now? (We could probably get about $1350/month in rent.)

Thank you for reading my post and I look forward to the advice.

Hi Jason,

Thanks for replying to my post. 

The condo would rent for around 1250-1300/month. I am definitely thinking of long-term tenant. I believe I would qualify for those types of loans? Both my wife and I have between 820-840 credit scores.

Hello all and thank you ahead of time for giving me some ideas on this topic!

Being newly married, my wife and I are now looking to purchase a home. We have some money saved but not enough money for the down payment of 20%(to avoid mortgage insurance) on a home that cost $400,000 that we desire.

We currently own two condos, one primary residence, and one vacation rental property. Our primary residence is the one we are thinking about selling. I purchased the condo back in 2011 and paid $95,000, however, I borrowed $30,000 in equity early on to update the property. Anyhow, I now only currently owe $96,500 on it and it is worth now around $230,000. HOA dues are $220/month and my payment is around $950. (15-year mortgage with a low interest rate of 3.25%)

My main question is; Would we benefit from renting this unit out long-term and keep the condo or should I sell the condo and cash out the equity in favor of liquid cash and having a full down payment for the new home?

Some additional background is that the other property(vacation rental) we own also has some built up equity and it typically makes around $20,000/year in rental income after mortgage/HOA/etc.

We have options and do not need to make any rash decisions right away, but I would just like to get the advice and opinions of the community on here. 

Thank you so much again for taking the time to read and respond!