Residential Rentals. Sell or rent?

[Mike Bellevue]

I own multiple rental homes, and commercial retail properties.  They are all paid for.  The residential properties all have great tenants that pay rent on time, take care of the homes, etc.  

A typical rent scenario looks like this:  Rent $800.  Tenant pays all utilities, landlord pays property tax and hazard insurance.  Insurance and property taxes cost me about $100 per month.

The market is a currently a sellers market, there are no listings on the board at the real estate office.  I was approached by a local real estate agent who inquired about my interest in selling some of my rental homes, as he had buyers and no inventory.  According to the agent, the two properties I would be interested in selling, would bring $150k and $165k.

Here lies my question.  Is it better to hold the properties as rentals, or sell the properties?  

[Thomas S.]

You will hear both sides, some will say hold others will say sell. Neither choice is right or wrong. All the advice will be useless to you until you have a business plan of your own.  

The two sides will be....never sell a rental property, or, sell to reinvest in something better.

The one thing you should be doing is investing your equity. It is now dying a slow death as dead equity. It is killing your achievable cash flow and needs to be invested where it can earn it's keep. Right now it is earning at best  3%-4% return. Is that good enough. If it is let it sit indefinitely.