Sell or rent a 100% debt free SFH

[James Rodgers]

Hi Everyone,

Happy Thanksgiving ! 

I have close friends in Montgomery, AL who are about 60 and 100% own their 4 bed 3 bath house. They have expressed interest in moving after living there for close to 30 years. It is close to a couple small Universities and decent retail/food areas, so I could see it appealing to many different tenant types. However, I personally know that it has serious foundation issues. For as long as I've visited this house there have constantly been new cracks, no matter how many they fix. I know that at one point they had contractor work done on the foundation, $10k worth or more. Basically, I don't forsee that aspect ever improving. 

My question: does it seem more profitable to do a BUNCH of aesthetic fixes and sell? Or rent for probably 1200/month? I can see pros in cons in each scenario, and if they rent out I might be the property manager.

Thanks!

James 

[Travis Trull]

I would probably rent for cash flow as well, but it of course depends on their situation and their needs. For example, can they financially afford to move without selling? If so, even renting for a time could make up the costs that they will lose doing repairs before selling. So they could rent for a few years and then sell.

But if they are interested in someone making an offer to buy as-is, inheriting those problems and risks and the costs of repair, my company is local to Montgomery, and we could take a look and see what we could offer.