advise on if we should sell or wait to avoid taxes

[Cisco Hood]

Hello everyone! I would like some opinions or advice. Here is me and my wife's situation 

We bought our townhouse for a little over 60k and closed in September of 2016 (and this is our residence) our HOA is $125 a month(covers water). We have been remodeling it with our own cash and it should be complete in the next couple of months. From what I've researched most townhouses in my area are selling for about $100 sq ft. Putting us around 100k if we sold. We originally had plans to rent it out after the remodel and move out into a apartment until we are able to finance a second property. but now I'm wondering if we should sell after the remodel and take half of the proceeds and re invest in either a fix n flip, or buy a duplex to house hack, or buy a single family to rent. The last thing we have been debating is if we should wait one more year to sell or rent it out just to avoid the taxes. Now If we wait one more year to sell it's going to take us at least 8 to 12 months to save up enough cash to buy a second property. Now if we sell now i believe it will jump start our investing sooner because we will have the capital to make some moves. Our long term goals are to have a lot of rentals with some fix and flips in between. So my question is should we sell now or wait one more year and sell. or should we hold and rent it out after one year? Rents in my complex go for about $850. Thanks in advance!

[Michael Bishop]

Two things to consider: (1) 1031 like-for-like exchange it, so sell it and put the proceeds in to your next investment property. This is one of the greatest tax benefits of real estate investing as it avoids capital gains taxes. There are some rules to know so do your research, talk to your CPA, etc. (2) pull out equity through a refinance. You say you want capital for your next deal, well you have it, it's sitting in your newly renovated townhouse. This way you can keep the townhouse as a rental AND buy another property.

Good luck!