Hold or Sell Seattle Condo

[Albert Zheng]

Hi All,

I was looking to get some feedback on whether I should consider selling or holding onto my property in Seattle. Just to give some back story on the property, I purchased my first owner occupied 1br/1b condo in north Seattle for a short sale at 103k at the beginning of 2013. Before the sale of the home, I was informed that a large assessment was upcoming to remediate the building which was going to require at least 35k from each owner. Unfortunately, the project ended up being larger than anticipated after the sale of the home and resulted in around 60k per unit. I put in the initial payment of 35k which I budgeted for and had the rest of the payments on a monthly basis. I lived in the unit for a little over a year then ended up moving due to job relocation and have been renting out the unit for over 2 years now. I've been able to cover my mortgage+HOA, but my margins are pretty thin to none due to the unexpected project cost. My tenant is planning to move out in 6 months and I'm considering whether to sell now since the market has heated up. A few comps in the same building have had recent sales between 215-230k. Currently, I'm renting at 1.1k, but I could see the rental market near 1.3k if I continue to rent it out. It would certainly give me more cash flow margin, but I am paranoid about more assessments in the future and the market turning the other direction. This would be my first sale of a unit so I thought what better way but to reach out to more experienced investors who already have weighed this decision in the past.