Rent vs Sell a paid off home

[Mark Gomez]

Hello all,

As you guys can see by my status, I am a beginner investor and would like to hear from my experienced investors here on this forum, what would be the best move to make in this situation?

My parents have finished paying off the mortgage on their home and are wondering weather it would be more profitable to sell their home or rent it out. 

The house, in the condition it is in, is currently appraising at about 350k. It is in a desirable area of town, in the same sector/neighborhood of properties ranging from 500k-1.5million. It has some updates: windows, exterior paint, plumbing. But with more it could probably be apraised for 500k ARV or more.

Also the house has a lot of rental income potential aswell. It is 4 bed/2.5 bath. It is on a corner lot and has a lot of room for an AUD in the backyard. My dad is a co tractor and has a guy for pretty much every modality in construction. He is thinking about adding a 2bed/2bath to the backyard or next to the house.

My mom is 60 and my dad is 59. They don’t have a retirement account. 
The main use of the house would be to be used as an asset for retirement.

What would be the best move for them to do in this situation. Thank you in advanced for your help!

[Drew Sygit]

Lots of good advice here, but no one asked what your parent's retirement plans are?

Do they want to move?

If not, they may consider building the ADU and down-sizing into it and renting out the main house. They could self manage for several years, using the rental income, until the next phase of their retirement.

If they have a decent amount of financial discipline, they may want to get a HELOC now before they build to get the most favorable rate. The HELOC would act as en emergency way to tap into their equity if needed - as long as they don't spend it unwisely!