We bought a house a month ago, should we sell it or try to rent

[Sejin Kim]

Hello, I am just starting studying in real estate. My goal is financial freedom in few years!  Now I don't know what will be wise with my property in current situation.  Any advice will be greatly appreciated. So, my husband I bought a our first property in October. It is 5 bed/3 bath house about 3100sqft with swimming pool. At that time, he was getting a lot of stress and he wanted to buy biggest house under our budget ( So at least, he has beautiful house when he come back from work! ) . We both were making good money so we were prequalified for 1.1M. Anyways, realtor who I found from Craigslist wasn't very helpful to lower the property even though we were only buyer.Anyways, we bought a house at 790K, just 1k lower than listing price, thankfully, appraisal came back with 815K.  Now, my husband has no income. (He is starting his new business and now he is between jobs.) So, now we are only depending on my income.   Because my toddlers sleep with us, we are only using one room. We rented out one room  at 800.  We are paying monthly $5300 including property tax, insurance, and mortgage. Rent helps, however, that is more than half of my income! Luckily, we have no debt besides house mortgage.  I thought about renting our house and then move into apartment, however, if we do that, we will just pay few hundred dollars less so I am not sure if that is good idea.  Can you guys give me any advice? Should I just sell even though we will lose money or rent it out or just stay here and try to spend less money? What do you guys suggest? 

I miss my old town so anyways, sometime, we'll go back to old town anyways.   Thank you 

[Brian Bohrer]

Hello Sejin,

This is quite the puzzle you have!  But I am sure with some advice on this forum you may find an answer or two.  

My first thought is what are the AirBnB laws in the area?  If the house is not easily divided with separate entrances that would allow you to rent out an entire space, then you may have a great idea in moving into a smaller apartment or home while your husband gets his business running.  

That swimming pool alone would get you a premium on your listings!!  Look around on AirBnb or AirDNA and see what a 5 bedroom 3 bath 3100sqft home with a swimming pool would rent for per night?  I would guess there is a good chance no one else has a similar property with the same amenities so you may have a great opportunity!  

I am not sure where you are located, so maybe the pool would not be a big drawing factor at this time.  Also the Airbnb market generally slows in cold climates over the winter, so be aware.

Another option would be to mid-term rent the home or a portion of the home for 30+ days at a time.  You would still provide furnishings and etc like a short term rental but could get approximately 20-30% more than a long term renter would pay for the same space!  

I think selling the house would be a last resort since you bought it so recently.  You may find that you would be losing money on your home sale, as the market has been decreasing over the last few months (in most areas) and will most likely continue until consumer confidence is back, which may not be until Spring or Summer.  I hope this helps and I wish you the best of luck!  Take Care,