Should I Sell Now or Wait Until Spring?

[Vern Hixon]

Good morning BP! I recently closed on a duplex in Little Chute, WI which is near Appleton, WI. My plan from the start was/is to flip this property, but I'm having a hard time deciding when I should put it back on the market. Right now both units are rented for well-below market ($3-400/unit). Total rents are currently $1,650. They should be in the $2,300-2,500 range. One of the tenants is month to month, the other signed a lease the day before I signed the purchase agreement that ends Sept 30th. My initial plan was to give notice to month-to-month tenant in the near future so that he is out by April 1st. His unit (both actually) need pretty minimal work. However, his unit will need a new furnace and A/C unit to be able to command top dollar in rent as both tenants pay their own utils and the existing furnace/AC in that unit are old and in-efficient. Total cost of furnace/AC is somewhere in the $5-6k range. Obviously, the higher the rents are, the better price I will get for the property. However, there is currently nothing on the MLS for multi-family properties in Little Chute and I know there is some demand. Should I wait to sell until I get rent up in the one unit and risk there will be other properties for sale on the MLS this spring, or should I sell now without having to put any money into the house when there are no competing properties on the market, even though it's typically a slower time of year? Thanks in advance for your help?