Time to ditch rental property because of HOA?

[Brett Morris]

I've owned a townhome for about 20 years. It has always been subject to HOA but recent issues have arisen that have caused fees to increase from $35/mo to $150/mo as well as random assessments popping up for maintenance of the aging property. Add to that the fact that board and property management company have proven to be extremely inept over the last few years, I'm seriously considering taking advantage of high market sales prices and selling this unit and re-investing in a less problematic property.

The property has a remaining mortgage and with the increased HOA fees, insurance costs and taxes, rent barely covers cost. I only own two properties currently so Im hesitant to sell as I want to expand, not shrink.

So here's the question. Properties are selling for about $200k..I owe about $20k. So let's say I sold and could clear $150k. What's the best use of that money to turn the sale of this one property into several additional properties for our portfolio? I'm less concerned with cash flow as I am with long term equity 

[Theresa Harris]

Sounds like a good time to sell. I sold my first rental for some of the same reasons-increasing condo fees, but also special assessments and poor management.  I took the money from the sale and used it to buy two places-one with cash and one as a down payment (plus kept some in the bank).  If you have the borrowing power, I'd use it for down payments on two rentals.  Keep in mind interest rates are higher, so your money won't go quite as far as it would have 5 years ago.