I could use some advice on how to deal with my rental property

[Todd Wood]

I have a SFH in Portland Oregon, that I once lived in and has been now rented for 8 going on 9 years. It is a small 3bd 1bth 960sqft. My PITI is 1169 and my rent is 1380 (just raised it this year was 1270 prior) and I pay $34 a month for garbage. I bought the house for $192k and it is now worth nearly $300k. I am paying 4.25% on $140k with about 20yrs remaining. It has appreciated quite nicely, but cashflow has been bad and the most recent repairs drained everything I had in the bank from the previous 8 years. I am expecting an increase of no less than $30 a month in taxes and insurance very soon. I had a water line break under the slab of the garage, garage door break, toilet break etc. Put in about $7k in repairs in the last two years. The home is 1964 so things are starting to age and break, though much has been replaced there is more to come. Tenants were good up until I found they weren't paying their sewer and the city threatened a lien on the property so I had to get a lawyer and force the tenants to take care of it or get evicted. It is starting to feel a little money pitish. I have $1000 left in my repair budget after everything. Just to be clear, I put 100% of the remaining cash after PITI and Garbage into a savings account for maintenance.

I would like to get the property OUT of Portland and Multnomah county.  I would also no longer like to manage a property.  However, I have been looking for a new property and 8% is making it hard to make the numbers work. If I can sell the house for $375k I will have $200k for a 1031, or if I take the cash I pay $48k in capital gains. Oregon and Portland laws are tough though.  I cannot evict the tenants to sell.  I have to sell with them in place and if someone buys the house and wants to live there I have to pay the tenant $4500 to move.  That $4500 is a tough one as it will have to come from my personal savings. 

So I have considered a beach rental (big business in Oregon), but I am worried about not getting enough income to cover mortgage.  My realtor has been sending me small Multi, but I can't pencil those out with only $200k down.  Rental rates have not kept up with these 8% mortgages and Oregon housing is really really expensive.   My own personnel home I bought 9 years ago for $280 is now worth $700. 

I could look out of state, maybe buy something free and clear?  or buy two of something, but I have no idea where to look. 

A part of me thinks about just dumping it.  The cost of taxes, both personal and property, plus rental expenses in Oregon plus the massive increases in home insurance is making the numbers look less good.  If I just sold I would put the money  into an investment account somewhere.  But I would love to get some cashflow out of something.  

So I could use a bit of advice on where to look, or ideas of where to research. 

[Melissa Hartvigsen]

Hello @Todd Wood,

Here's my take on your choices:

Option 1. Keep the property, and have your attorney help you negotiate a cash for keys agreement to get the tenant out. Then, you can get more money in rent. (Market rent, even in the lowest rent neighborhoods in Portland for a 3bed 1 bath SFR is at minimum $1900.  Your current rent of $1,380 is well below market, and with our rent cap, it will take you years to get even close to market. The going rate for a property manager is 8-10%, though I have seen it as high as 14% in the City of Portland due to the extra layers required for managing a property.)  Even if you come in with $5,000 out of pocket that would take you 10 months to break-even if you continue managing or about 15 months (if you pay a PM 10% a month).  This option removes the "headache" of you dealing with the day to day operations and keeps the property in Portland. 

Option 2, sell and buy in another market. If you are financing the deal it would be hard to make anything pencil with the appx 9-10% interest rates for investors. Make a forum post in BP to ask for recommendations on markets and do some research.

Option 3, consider using a 1031 exchange and acquiring a DST (Delaware Statutory Trust). This will allow you to keep the cash flow coming in, and remove the day to day operations of managing the property. Forbes has a good article on these: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesfinancecouncil/2023/08/22/understanding-the-delaware-statutory-trust-full-cycle-event/?sh=4a52b0641236

Option 4, as you stated, you can just sell and take the tax hit. You would still have money in your pocket to invest elsewhere.

Personally I use on calculators to see the "financial opportunity" before I make a decision. BP has a rental property evaluation calculator under tools. If you are considering non-real estate options you could try the "investment calculator" on calculator.net.

Best of luck to you!
Melissa