Rent or sell 4 plex

[Kevin H.]

I have an underperforming 4 plex and I'm trying to decide if I should sell or get it back on track. When I managed the photo perry it was a money maker for a few years. Then I got a property manager and the guy was a complete moron. Long story short repairs were shoddy and tenants were awful. Unfortunately my job doesn't allow me time to properly manage the place myself. Currently one of the four units is rented for $450. Two other units are rent ready and the last needs about $1,000 to get it ready. That includes new appliances which the previous tenant destroyed. If I keep it I'll be hiring a well known management company which will cost 8% a month. The numbers are below. Any advice or input is welcomed. Thanks. $76.57 insurance $215.16 taxes $558.38 mortgage $102 gas & electric $134.31 water, sewer, trash Unit 1 $450 rented - 1 bedroom Unit 2 $425 vacant - studio Unit 3 $450 vacant - 1 bedroom Unit 4 $600 vacant - 3 bedroom

[Mark Fedorov]

If you get it under control the sell price will increase, so don't sell it at a discount now, improve it.

The rents seem weird, from studio to 1BR there is only a $25 difference? and from 1BR to 2BR is only a 30% jump... you should do more (or have the management company do more) market research to see if your rents are correct.

A good management company should help you get this on track, however put aside time every week or every other week to make sure that you improvement project is on schedule.