We have a property that is a mismatch with the rest we own?

We have a property that is a mismatch with the rest we own?

Real Estate Investor · Des Moines, IA · Member since 2016 · 922 posts · 533 votes

So we have one property that's in a 'less' desirable area of town.  It's a decent property and currently produces about $300-500/mo in cash flows, not including deferred maintenance allowance.  The property is rented out with 5 separate living spaces currently, more as an apartment than a house.  The house has the size and layout to support this.  However, all of our other rentals are single family homes or a duplex that we have rented outright to one tenant effectively.  I can tell that the house in question is taking more wear and tear, and although we have an on site property manager, I can also tell that it's taking more of my time on average than the others.  We estimate that the free cash flow if we converted it to a single family home rental, would reduce possibly by $50-150/mo, and we may have costs of about $500-1500 for the turn (vacancy and other deferred maintenance items that could wait but we would fix if we had the turn).

Further, this property is different than the rest.  Most of the rest are either newer, only 3 bedrooms, or have some type of specific architectural appeal that separates them from most and helps command higher rent.  This one is just a very large house, basically - in a so-so neighborhood.  So it doesn't fit just right, and requires some special attention.  However, we're building equity, and it cash flows decently.. What would you do?

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  • Rental Property Investor · Greenwich, CT · Member since 2015 · 4k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    9y

    I would sell it.

    Unless the cash flow is seriously outsized, it represents a great appreciation opportunity, or you want to build your portfolio further with similar properties, the effort and lack of standardization is going to be a bigger and bigger drag.

    As you scale, being able to standardize processes (like tenant screening and qualification) is critical. Focus on properties similar to your others. That way your leveraging all of your resources to support each other.

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