Living with Parents and Owning a Negative Cash-Flow Single-Family

[Xander Monge]

Hello Everyone,

This is my first ever post here, and I'm excited to join the community and learn more. I'm seeking advice on my current situation and the best route for achieving my real estate goals.

For context, I'm 23 years old, living in Providence, RI, with the aim of owning 5 rental units and my own home in the next 10 years. Over the past two years, I've been working two jobs and channeling all my income into my Roth IRA and savings account. Currently, I'm still living with my parents. They have no rush for me to move out, as I have a great relationship with them and my siblings, and I assist with household maintenance.

Recently, a single-family home became available in the neighborhood, just a block over from my family's home and a minute from my workplace. Seeing it as a great potential future home, I decided to make an offer.

The offer was accepted, and I purchased the house with the intention of staying at my parents' place while renting out the home until I'm ready to buy a duplex, moving closer to my goal. Essentially, I'm holding onto this property for myself and dipping my toes into landlord responsibilities in the interim.

However, I'm now unsure if I'm taking the best route, as despite aiming for breakeven or positive cash-flow, the house isn't attracting any applicants. It has been on the market for 21 days with over 50 views per day and multiple saves. It's becoming apparent that it'll cash-flow negative, the mortgage is $2892/month and rental estimates are $2650/month. I should note that I can afford the entire mortgage and maintenance costs on my own, and I have no other debt.

Considering all of this context, what is the smartest move for me to take from here?

[Nathan Gesner]

The appraised value probably won't help. Appraisers are often generous with their value because they assume you will hold onto the property for 3-5 years. if they knew you were going to sell a couple months later, they would have lowered their valuation.

You will lose money with a sale due to REALTOR and closing costs. The only way I see you getting out of this is if you can rent by the room and increase earnings, but even that's a stretch. 

Based on what you've told us, I would sell it and take the immediate hit. Lick your wounds and educate yourself on how to analyze property before you try again.