Help with Rent/Sell Decision

[Bryan Inman]

Hello BP,

BLUF:

Trying to decide to sell or rent:

Monthly pmt (PITI): $1356

Possible Rental amt: $1700-1800

Owe $175,000 @ 3.625%

Value $234,500

Would use a property manager.

House was built in 2006. Everything in the house works so no changes need to be made prior to sale/rent.

Great newer neighborhood with an HOA ($260/yr), heated community pool, and a large greenspace adjacent to the back yard.

Long version:

Trying to decide on renting or selling our house.

Purchased for $193,000 in 2014 (VA)

IRRRL/VA to VA for 185,000 in 2016 @ 3.625% / 30yr (Bank paid 100% of the fees)

Currently owe $175,000

Realtor thinks we can sell pretty quick at $234,500

Market seems to have improved quite a bit in the last few years. The number of available sell/rent houses has dropped quite a bit, and time on the market for most of the sales has been very short.

If we sell I think we should be able to walk with over $50,000 (please let me know if my math is way off on that). Looking at the market in our new location, our situation, and risk tolerance I think we want to rent when we get there.

I found this site because I am listening to Brandon Turner’s: Rental Property Investing book. I enjoy personal finance and retirement investing/planning and have thought about getting into buy and hold real estate for a while. I plan to learn a lot in the future on this site, books, and podcasts. However, I am on a time crunch since we need to re-locate in 3 months. Any help would be greatly appreciated.