Sell? Or don’t sell?

[Ian Bruesehoff]

Question: We have two CALIF. condos (PGA West La Quinta & Lake Arrowhead), each earning $30K ann. as STR's, w/3% loans, our son pays for one condo. We live mostly in La Quinta. We're 65; my husband had a stroke & can't work, and I'm on disability. We pay $2K month credit card debt (used to set-up the STR's) get $5K from Social Security, leaving $3K to live on. We took an $80K HELOC on Lake Arrowhead for expenses. Should we sell these condos for better cash flow houses or try to find owner financed deals? We want to scale up our STR business.

[Theresa Harris]

I'd start by talking to a bank to find out if you'd be approved for a mortgage-you may not be.  If so, then start running the numbers to see if you could do better if you bought a house.  Condos are less expensive to purchase, but the condo fees increase your monthly costs.  It also depends on the type of condo and type of house.  When I ran numbers a few years ago for a higher end condo vs newer, but starter home, the purchase price for the house was a bit more ($40K), but I could rent the house for more and payments were similar once I added in the condo fees...I went with the house.