Sell or Long Term Rental

[Heidi Womble]

Hello BP community!

We have a single-family residence with a large in-law quarters (basically a duplex - but no separate meters) in Flagstaff, AZ that we have used for as a personal residence for the last three years. We own the property with my father-in-law that has lived in the other side, and we split the 15 year fixed 50% with him.

3,032 sqft total, each unit having 3br 2ba and full kitchens

Net Zero home with a giant solar system and no gas (we only pay the $25 per month service fee for all our energy needs)

2.25 acres backing a moderately traveled highway

3,000 sqft detached heated workshop with a half-bath that can accommodate a motorhome

Both parties will be moved from the property in about two months to different personal residences, and both parties are newbie and excited REI's.

Our plan A was to sell the property (currently listed with a local REA on the MLS for $750,000 - many realtors have walked and said the property is priced spot-on) and use the cash to invest elsewhere. Since this property calls for a specific buyer since it is so unique, and the location being right next to the highway, we have had a small number of showings with no offers. Now we face the decision to either keep the vacant home on the MLS and hope the right buyer will discover this jewel sooner than later, or take it off the market when the contract is up (November) and use it as a long term rental (Airbnb is currently being attempted in my father-in-law's side, but is currently not making half the mortgage payment). We have a ton of equity (potentially $350k that we will split 50%) which would be most preferred, or running the numbers through the long-term calculator we'd potentially have around $800 per month to split.

As I said we are new investors and are looking to the BP community to get some feedback on our situation.
Any thoughts to this? Suggestions? Different ideas?