Hold or Sell???

[Keith Schulz]

I own a duplex in a small town in Wisconsin (30 miles west of Madison). I bought it and owner occupied it for 2 years, and then moved back into Madison. In any case, I've been debating doing a condo conversion and selling it in halves, or holding it for a few more years.

The positives of selling it now that I see are:

-I would have more cash available for making other investments.
-It's would be good timing to sell this summer since both of the tenents leases expire (one in July and one in August).
-I wouldn't have the hassle of managing a property 30 miles from home in an area that's hard to find good tenants.
-My low variable interest rate will expire in about a year so my interest rate will go up by at least 1.5% then.

The positives of holding that I see are:

-I have a positive cashflow of $380/month
-The property is appreciating (although not as much as other areas).
-There currently isn't much maintenence considering the property is 9 years old (probably about the time to start having some things break though).

A little more info: I bought the property in 2000 so I am now beyond the 2 out of 5 year rule to avoid capital gains (shoulda sold it last year). I paid $192,000 for it, and I estimate it's value as a whole at $225,000 (not appreciating real fast) or as condos at $125,000-$135,000 for each side. Also, it seems to me the market for condo's is slowing down a little, and the rental market is improving a little.

So, after all that, anybody have any thoughts, tips, or advice?

Thanks,
Keith