Good Problem-Sell or Wait?

[Brett Kramer]

Hello All,

I own a townhouse in Las Vegas. It was my primary residence since 2011 and it has currently been a rental property for the last 6 months (I moved to new construction). I bought the property for $105,000 and it would probably sell for $230,000 today before closing costs. The property is paid off. The townhouse rents for $1195 a month, which is a good return on investment but not a good return on equity. I do expect rent prices to climb but not suddenly. I'm guessing the next lease In February the rents will be $1250 to $1300. I have a strong desire to own more real estate but currently in Las Vegas the ROI isn't there unless you want to gamble on appreciation and I do not. I am looking out of market but I haven't found a good match yet.

Things to consider

1.  If I sell within the next 2.5 years I can avoid capital gains tax which in this case for me is a big chunk of change.  $230,000-$112500 (closing costs included) x 0.15= $17,625.  

2.  The townhouse is a short drive to the future Raiders practice facility and supposedly the site of various new construction projects (malls, high rise condos, etc.).  

3.  I am planning on reinvesting all the money from the possible sale into real estate elsewhere.  Getting a rent check is like Christmas every month to me.

4.  The Las Vegas housing market has been extremely hot recently but prices are still noticeably lower than the 2006-2007 highs.

I would greatly appreciate any thoughts.

Here are some options for you quick readers who don't have time to write a full explanation for your decision making.

A) Hold forever    B) Sell Now  C)  Hold and monitor market closely  D) Sell before the 2.5 years to avoid capital gains tax

Thanks

Brett

[Bill B.]

@Brett Kramer

@Ben Durwood

I was going to say you have 2 options. 

B2 (sell in 6 months when the lease expires (home buyers don’t want renters in the house and you don’t want to boot a paying tenant.)

Or 

E) Ben's suggestion. Get a 70% LTV cash out refi which gives you $160k for either 3x $50k down payments on $200k properties. (Adjust number of properties up and down by price, trying to put 25% down. Some leverage. Some safety.)

There is zero % chance I would sell to buy another property unless you are leaving the area or doing an exchange in to something so big you need $200k instead of $160k. Then it’s a toss up.