When is a home too large or nice to rent?

[Mike Lynch]

As some of you know from my other posts, we bought a 3008 sq. ft. river front home in Sept. 2015 for $118,000 that was worth $650,000 in 2007. -- The home sat empty for several years. It had a failed sewer, had been vandalized, needed a lot of labor and materials. We are almost finished with it. We have now spent $80,000 in materials and labor. My wife and I have done about 90 percent of the labor in the evenings and on weekends. Several contractors and appraisers say that it is worth around $380,000 now. ( Brand new stainless appliances, new hardwood floors, retaining wall, new plumbing, new sewer, new driveway, new paint, new doors,new carpet, new lighting, etc. ) It is waterfront with a 4 mile water view of a coastal river in Shallotte, NC. It is one of the best views in the county.

We really hate to sell it since it is one of the only homes with a corner river length facing view. We are thinking about getting a home equity line on the home of as much as we can, then maybe renting it out. We could use the equity line, slow and generously, from it to purchase other properties to flip and rent more properties, and the monthly rent generated from the river home to pay back the equity line and to save up for cap ex, taxes, insurance, maintenance, etc.

Our question is, how much are people willing to pay for long term rent? The average rent around here is around $800.00 per month. Is this home too large or too expensive to rent? I bought some great real estate books from suggestions on this website. There are just so many strategies to choose from that it makes my head spin. The location of the home is very desirable and maybe people would pay top dollar? 

If you were in this position, what would you do? --- What are other strategies that might work?

Thanks,

Mike

[Mike Lynch]

Well, that pretty much sums it up. We will have to sell it. It can't be used as a weekly rental. We have some really quite and picky neighbors. Loud renters showing up at 2:00 in the morning coming home from a dance club or local beach bar won't work. I have tried to figure out how to keep it, but the numbers never add up no matter what strategy or that I try to come up with.

Thanks Again,

Mike