Sell or continue renting SFH in St Louis area

[Lesley M.]

Hi there,

I purchased a SFH in Dec 2021 for $99k. I spent about $12k in repairs and upgrades to make it rentable. I rented it for 1 year with minimal issues.

In 2023, tenants moved out and I put in $5k in turnover costs. Then it didn’t pass the city inspection because of landscaping debris and tree branches that fell in my yard, so I put in $5k more.

After 6 months of vacancy, a new tenant moved in and immediately began complaining about everything. I had to replace the fridge, HVAC, and various other repairs that were another $8k or so. She’s been paying rent but we are not renewing with her. She’ll be out by Dec 1.

Given that I’ve been paying about $15k on this property every year, it’s been a money pit. I’m trying to decide if I should keep going, or take this as a learning experience and sell it.

I have a realtor looking at comps to get a sale value. Back of the napkin, I think $130k would be break even. Redfin says its value could be 150-160k, but I doubt that’s accurate, unless the market heats up with lower interest rates.

What factors should I consider?

How can I tell if my experience with repairs and tenants was bad luck? Or if it will continue?