Should we Rent or Sell?

[Paige Hogan]

My fiancé and I bought a house outside of Boston, MA in Weymouth in July, 2020 for $430,000. We've done some improvements including laminate flooring and added a patio, and currently the Zestimate is at $515,000. 

For reference we live in a 1 family cape in a neighborhood about 1 mile from the train into Boston, 3 miles to the nearest hospital, and a downtown that is only expanding. I am currently a travel nurse and we are looking to start investing/ buying multifamily properties in the next 6 months based on locations we travel/ our home state of CT. 

Our question is, based on the information provided would you keep and rent the property knowing Boston is only expanding , our downtown is expanding, the location etc. and buy a more affordable multifamily or sell to reinvest in a larger multifamily or a couple multifamilies and start fresh. We are not planning on living or working within 2 hours of the Boston area anymore. We would love to hear some thoughts! Thank you in advance. 

[Chris Allen]

Quote from @Paige Hogan:

My fiancé and I bought a house outside of Boston, MA in Weymouth in July, 2020 for $430,000. We've done some improvements including laminate flooring and added a patio, and currently the Zestimate is at $515,000. 

For reference we live in a 1 family cape in a neighborhood about 1 mile from the train into Boston, 3 miles to the nearest hospital, and a downtown that is only expanding. I am currently a travel nurse and we are looking to start investing/ buying multifamily properties in the next 6 months based on locations we travel/ our home state of CT. 

Our question is, based on the information provided would you keep and rent the property knowing Boston is only expanding , our downtown is expanding, the location etc. and buy a more affordable multifamily or sell to reinvest in a larger multifamily or a couple multifamilies and start fresh. We are not planning on living or working within 2 hours of the Boston area anymore. We would love to hear some thoughts! Thank you in advance. 

 Hi there Paige, I am a travel nurse as well, and I think you are definitely in the right mindset, but I don't think there is necessarily a "wrong" answer. A few things I have to ask and my opinion are

Question) Would this house have the ability to make money as a rental? At least enough to pay for itself and a little extra for future expenses.

     Opinion) If this house can pay for itself, can cover basic future expenses and has strong potential for future growth, I would lean towards renting.

Q) Do you really NEED the cash to invest in something else or can your personal savings get you started in buying some multi?

     O) Like above, if you don't really need the cash, then I lean towards keep. But if you know you need that cash to "level up" into a better investment, then I think its reasonable to sell in/after July when you have two years in the property to avoid Capital Gains. 

Q) What type of loan did you purchase with? Conventional, FHA, VA, 20% down, etc...?

O) Depending on how much equity you actually have based on the down payment you did, it might be a great idea to go ahead and sell when you know the market is up and you are within your two out of the last 5 yr. But also, if you bought via FHA and you plan to hold, I would think maybe re-financing out of the FHA to get rid of PMI as well as freeing you up to use FHA again in the future, possibly for a multi family.