Do I keep it, do I sell it, do I 1031 and move on?

[Maria Nelms]

Hello! I have a property in Arlington VA that I have owned for over a decade. I decided last year to forgo on taking advantage on the 5 year mark and continue renting it. Rent is an average of $2800 to $3000/ month. Refinanced at 2.8%. $250k equity. I should have netted $11k per year taking out property mgmt fees and mortgage. Before I rented out the property, I invested in a complete remodel because it was my primary residence. The first tenants were there for 2 years and I had about $6000 worth of repairs to get in pristine condition. My last tenants were there for 1.5 years and not only were they a hassle, but the property mgmt company didn't really stay on top of what they were requesting. Last year I ended up with $3000 in handyman and service visits. Additionally, I had some age related expenses that totaled $12k Electrical box expansion and chimney pipe replacement. When the tenants finally moved out I discovered they had not ever cleared the yard of leaves and left two seasons worth of leaf debris lying on the extensive wooden deck. The deck replacement plus the interior repairs are going to cost me $20k. The house is also 80 years old. Structurally, electrical or some other major issue is bound to arise

I am at a crossroads. Do I do the repairs and rerent, or do I sell the property and 1031 to buy 2 to 3 new ones and have less of a profit and equity? Or do I sell and take the tax hit of $65k+? The property is out of state for me so the new ones would be closer   

[Maria Nelms]

Quote from @Taylor L.:

I would look to sell and also consider another strategy. Property managers, even the best ones, require management themselves. Things like the runaway handyman bill are controllable by property owners as part of managing your PM and the repair expenses. If you do choose to stick with buying rentals, keep a close eye on your monthly financial reports and PM's activities. Hope that doesn't sound harsh :)

 No, not at all. And fully agree.  It was a new company and I permitted them to have the threshold of $500 without my prior approval. 4 months in I realized that they had took the threshold as a per occurrence. There were multiple occurrences in a given month.  smh