Sell or Rent Out Condo?

[snowdogging]

I disagree with the advice on raincityguide.com. It is run by realtors and you will get the typical "It is a great time to sell. It is also a great time to buy. It is always a great time to do either...chching chching!" If realtors continue to give out advice on economics and price trends then they should also expect some harsh criticism on the conflict of interest there.

I would recommend doing your own research. You can head over to seattlebubble.com/blog and check out the latest pricing trends along with pretty flowing charts if you want. It has bubble in the title but the posts are pretty informative...the comments are one-sided so skip those if you want. After that check out the rental section in craigslist and guess what you can get. Be conservative and take a guess where prices will go and do the numbers on appreciation or depreciation, risk assessment, and ROI. It is a lot of money and worth your time.

[Ira500]

I'll second snowdogging's recommend of seattlebubble.com..
There are a few " drunk the kool-aid" style real estate agents there, and there are also some " it's never a good time to buy" nutjobs, but overall it's a very informative blog, and a good balance to the raincityguide type stuff.
The comments on seattlebubble are always a blast to read, and I add to them whenever I feel like I've got something useful to contribute.

[70Ford]

Yep. I read them both. Sorry I didn't mention seattlebubble. Seattle bubble was the site that lead me to raincity....LOL...so there you go.

Good luck with your decision!

[mdelp]

Thanks everyone, I've decided to try putting it on the market and depending how that goes might end up renting it out. I believe the Washington State excise tax is 1.785% or something close to that. I think if I get some tough offers, I'll check out SeattleBubble. Right now I've got to remain positive and help my listing agent sell this thing as best we can.

[vanbao]

I would say if you can afford it, keep your condo and rent it out. Queen Anne is a very desirable neighborhood and the land there is limited. My first purchase was a townhouse in Lynnwood which I bought in 1997 for $127. I lived there for 3 years and have been renting it out ever since. All these times, someone else is paying for my townhouse and it is appreciating at the same time.

As for the real estate market, it goes up and it goes down. In the long run, the NW area properties will appreciate. Think who we are doing business with in the future. Think about all good and services from Asia that must go through Seattle.

If you sell now I am sure in two years when you come back, you won't have enough money to buy the same condo in Queen Anne.

Now is a bad time to sell, pay the tax, and take the money to Canada.

The best advice a friend of mine told me 5 years ago was to never sell a property unless you are doing a 1031 exchange. Because of that, I now have:

1 townhouse,
2 houses,
1 triplex,
2 apartment complex
1 commercial building
and looking to add more.

I am don't mean to brag but just to make a point. Keep your condo and have someone else pay for your mortgage. 5 years from now, you will be happy you did.

[Pugetsoundman]

From what I have read recently, prices in Seattle are down 25-30% since June 08. Rents are down quite a bit too. I sold my house in June 08 and have been renting since then. Meanwhile, the buyer of my property still hasn't moved in because he hasn't been able to sell his original property to allow him to retire. So, he continues to work to pay two mortgages and live in his old house in Chicago while his new house sits vacant, deteriorating as vacant houses will do. Wait until a water pipe leaks while he isn't there to check on the house for a few weeks.....I sure am glad I dropped my price when I did. Those who didn't have seen the risk of devaluation materialize!