Rental with negative cash flow

[Susanna S.]

Hi everyone, I'm new to real estate and I bought my first property(old 2 bedroom condo in Toronto, Canada) last September. It was intended to be a primary residence but my partner and I moved back home with our parents as we were laid off right after the sale. We tried to rent it out but it was vacant for 7 months...we were in a private mortgage due to not being able to close on time since we got laid off from ours jobs. Long story but just bad timing overall. We were able to refinance to B lender a few months ago but we are still paying $900 out of pocket each month to keep this property afloat. (including mortgage, maintenance fees, property tax) The tenant that we eventually found got way below market value, about $500 less now since the rents have gone back up. We were desperate at the time to just fill the vacancy.  I'm looking for some advice, is it ever good to keep a negative cash flow property? Should we sell as soon as we can just to break even or hold due to speculation of appreciation? Never know what the market is going to do but if we sell now, it will most certainly be for a loss. Is it ever ok to tell your tenants you are thinking of selling because you can no longer afford the payments since the rent doesn't cover expenses to prompt a higher than allowed rent increase?

I really appreciate any suggestions. Thank you so much.