Turning townhome into a rental or selling?

[Kristen Brandner]

Hello,

My boyfriend currently owns his Townhome in Issaquah, WA. It is a 3 bd, 2.5 bath, 2 car garage. We are currently under special assessment of 17K to replace the roof (they notified all the homeowners that they had done a special assessment after burning the kitty on replacing four of the units roofs this past summer). It was built in 1997 and we are currently investing about 20K in repairs/updates to the interior. Updates include replacing the shower surround in the master bath, replacing flooring, replacing kitchen countertops with granite and a new stainless steel sink. More vanity repairs. The main issue is replacing the toilet in the downstairs bath which seems to not have had the wax seal and flange installed well. 

With everything going on with COVID, my boyfriend is convinced he should sell his townhome and cut his losses in this current time. I disagree, I think it is smart to turn into a rental. Looking for some insight on which is a better option? Currently his HOA is 500/month with a 10% increase every year. His mortgage is 2,200. There is one unit down the street on the market for 539K. He bought the place for 330K 4 years ago.