tailgatetimer10 said:
I know this is not the topic of the thread but:
Does anyone in here own rental properties? I'm trying to decide if I should rent vs sell my place.. And would like to discuss this topic with someone who trades stock, to get their thoughts. Most of my contacts and friends who own rentals do not actively trade or invest in stocks, so I am unable to have an unbiased discussion
I think owning or investing in RE rental property is an excellent place to put money so it's not all in the stock market. I have several RE Investments over the years and this past year I have been educating myself to begin purchasing my own rental properties.
Specific to your question: I would look at your metrics for grading a potential rental property opportunity, then do some DD on recent home sales and rental prices. For instance if you need monthly rent to be 1% or more of home cost to consider a rental purchase that would be a good place to start. You may also want to consider the fees and costs you'd pay if you sold (exclude taxes) as well as any costs incurred if you didn't sell (if not paid off would keeping that mortgage make the mortgage on your new house more expensive).
If financially it would be a good investment to buy as a rental house, I would consider keeping it. If it would not I would just sell it.
If it does make sense to keep from a financial perspective then you have to decide if it's worth it to you, assuming you don't have other rentals. Do you want to invest the time to get this rented, to set up rental agreement, deal with renters, and deal with maintenance items? For the first rental this can be a relatively sizeable time suck. On the other side it would be a great way to break in to the RE rental game and get experience with a home that you are familiar with.
TDLR: Maybe