Condo with Great Location vs MFR Investment Prop?

[Brandon Bhagat]

Hi Everyone,

I bought a condo on the beach in LA in 2009 for $545k, have since put in about $10k in renovations, and have the opportunity to sell it now for about $675k (after having lived in it for almost four years). I am moving to a different city soon and would appreciate your opinions on the following options:

1. Sell the condo for a gain of about $70k after selling expenses and then use that money (plus my equity) to purchase a multi-family investment property farther inland. The properties I am looking at would yield somewhere between $12k-18k in annual net profit at the end of the day but appreciation would most likely be less significant.

2. Hold onto my condo for a year or two (to hopefully see some additional appreciation) while renting it out. I should earn approximately $7k-8k in net profit annually by doing this.

Either way I will eventually end up buying an investment property in a more affordable area but I do not know if I am selling the condo prematurely. My thought process is that appreciation by the beach will outpace appreciation inland and thus I may be able to afford a larger property if I wait 1-2 years before selling.

I would greatly appreciate any advice that you can offer!

Thanks,
Brandon