Rent or Sell? (Golf: short sales, real estate, foreclosures)

[lokahi]

Hey everyone -

I wanted to post this b/c I respect your opinions and wanted to get your take on this:

I have a condo that I can't decide if I want to rent or sell. At this point, I'm not upside down in my mortgage (thankfully), but will lose some $ if I sell b/c some of the equity has been lost (prob. $15-20k). Although, if I rent, I won't be breaking even on my mortgage and will prob. have to pay $500 (over what the renters would pay) per mo. to keep it going.

Are condos even selling out there? It was built in 2006 and has alot of upgrades. I can't decide whether to hang tight and rent it out or sell now before the housing market really hits bottom (and by that time I might be upside down in my mortgage).

All thoughts welcome!

[projectmaximus]

do you think you might ever want to use the condo again? or is it strictly a financial asset from here on out?

[lokahi]

Yes, we might want to use it again, but the other half of my brain tells me that we could rent something if we really needed to...so no, it wouldn't be strictly a financial asset...

[apanda]

I would say your first step would to get some CMAs (Comparable Market Analysis) ran on your unit for renting and selling. This is a report your Realtor would run to get your high, medium & low options on the price you could set for renting or selling. This will give you more of an exact idea where you would be with taking either direction.

Personally, now that you have added in the fact you may use it again, and given your CMA reports don't fluctuate from what you have stated; I would rent it out.

[ShakenStirred]

Originally Posted by lokahi

Hey everyone -

I wanted to post this b/c I respect your opinions and wanted to get your take on this:

I have a condo that I can't decide if I want to rent or sell. At this point, I'm not upside down in my mortgage (thankfully), but will lose some $ if I sell b/c some of the equity has been lost (prob. $15-20k). Although, if I rent, I won't be breaking even on my mortgage and will prob. have to pay $500 (over what the renters would pay) per mo. to keep it going.

Are condos even selling out there? It was built in 2006 and has alot of upgrades. I can't decide whether to hang tight and rent it out or sell now before the housing market really hits bottom (and by that time I might be upside down in my mortgage).

All thoughts welcome!

We're dragging the bottom this year....keep it for another 2 years and then sell it. This is the worst possible time to sell, so if you don't HAVE to sell, don't. If you can afford the extra $500/month you will do better to wait this thing out. For even more detailed info you can go to www.clarkhoward.com

Best of luck to you.

[lokahi]

Thanks everyone I really appreciate your input - it's hard to think about renting it out for 2 years, but it does seem like a bad time to sell...

[mkgolfer]

Hi,
Are you living in it now? Are you local? Which condo is it. SOme are selling, some are not? Does it have a garage?
My basic rule of thumb that I tell my clients....is, if you Don't HAVE to sell, then it's not a good time. NOONE can tell you how long the market will take to come back around, but they say another
1 1/2 years or so. However, we have seen the market pick up quite a bit since the 2nd week of Jan. There have been ALOT more buyer calls, and ALOT more homes under contract than the last 4-6 months....which says, certain areas are picking back up. But there are still alot of short sales, foreclosures and new builder condos they are trying to give away.

Depending on how many sqft it is, and the rent you could get, you might make the money back (that you'll be eating monthly) abit if you waited a couple of years. The market is really satuated with condos....but again, it depends where it is? Let me know, and I can give more feedback.

MKGolfer

[projectmaximus]

Originally Posted by lokahi

Yes, we might want to use it again, but the other half of my brain tells me that we could rent something if we really needed to...so no, it wouldn't be strictly a financial asset...

I'd try to rent it out then, and trust that things will pick up in a couple years. Then you can reassess and hopefully get much more if you do choose to sell.

[mawipafl]

My thought is the same - rent it. Curious question for those here who are landlords -- is there any benefit at tax time that would help negate lokahi's $500/month outlay?

[FLPL75]

lokahi
You didn't say where it was located, but if it is with in 20 or 30 mins to either NAS or Mayport you may want to consider listing it as a rental on MilitarybyOwner.com - Real Estate near U.S. Military Bases This is where a lot of the Military folks look when they get orders to a new city.

I know when our neighbors got transferred they used it and rented their home to a family being transferred down here from VA . They were able to get a 2 year lease.