I receintly purchased a new home in St. Mary's and I still own my first home in Waldorf. I'm torn on what to do with the Waldorf home, rent or sell. I have owned it since built in 1996 and only have 7 yrs left to pay on it, well under $100k owed. Last check, it was worth around $310k and the note is $1200. If I rent then I'll need to give it a good scrubbing and carpet cleaning. If I sell, I feel I would need to replace the carpet and repaint the interior, among other minor fix-ups. It's a little tight right now with two mortgages and utilites on one income. I won't go under, but I don't like cutting it close.

Investment opportunity? renter headache? any thoughts?

rent it

Have you ever been a landlord before? If you have, you'll know what you're getting into. If not, be aware that it's not for everybody. I was a landlord with multiple dwellings for over 25 years up until 2005. All I can say is, it can be a real pain. You may be lucky if you only rent one place -- maybe, maybe not -- but there's a good chance you'll have some sleepless nights.

On the investment side, don't forget the capital gains exclusion (I'm assuming you used your Waldorf house as primary residence for at least 2 of the last 5 years). If you sell, you can exclude 250k of the capital gain on your taxes if single, 500k if married. I've house-hopped and used the exclusion numerous times. This would point to selling the house, but only you can decide. Regarding the timing of selling, sure it's a horrible market but nobody knows when the market is going to turn around, nor how much. It could even get worse. People forget that it took 10 years for the market to recover in the 90's. I suffered quite a bit in that one and will not forget.

Sounds like you'll be lucky to break even if you rent, considering maintenance and vacancy. Only time will tell if selling now is better or not -- nobody knows. There is no crystal ball no matter what anybody says. Sure, you'll see some near-term up or down trends as they occur, but what next? My advice is, if you're good at fixing things and can keep maintenance costs down, if you know how to be stern/rigid in business dealings with people, and you don't mind losing some of your leisure time or time spent with family, you may want to be a landlord. Otherwise, sell, take the money (and tax write-off) and run, and don't look back.

Jack

I receintly purchased a new home in St. Mary's and I still own my first home in Waldorf. I'm torn on what to do with the Waldorf home, rent or sell. I have owned it since built in 1996 and only have 7 yrs left to pay on it, well under $100k owed. Last check, it was worth around $310k and the note is $1200. If I rent then I'll need to give it a good scrubbing and carpet cleaning. If I sell, I feel I would need to replace the carpet and repaint the interior, among other minor fix-ups. It's a little tight right now with two mortgages and utilites on one income. I won't go under, but I don't like cutting it close.

Investment opportunity? renter headache? any thoughts?

I think you should talk to a Realtor, they'll be able to advise you based on the current market. If you rent though, be picky and do your research...could definitely be a headache. Good luck :yay:

Renting seams to be everybodies choice. I realy apreaciate the advice! I was going to look into a management company or maintence company so I won't get the calls at 2am for no heat or whatever. I also was looking into having the word put out by word of mouth only to rent to. I been stationed Andrews for over 15yrs and just retired, so I have a pool of people I could tap into.

A realtor or property manager could handle most of the business side for you. I believe most charge 1 months rent for these services. I would rent it if I were you.

ACORN recommends maximizing your insurance and then hiring someone to burn the place.

I was just wondering, how many tenants have you all had?

Like any business there is risk involved and makes no bones about if you do decide to rent your house you will be in essence a small business owner... Just don’t tell the IRS that’ll so that you can claim a loss on the house every year...LOL (just kidding tax people)

My vote is that you rent it… You may just break even like the one poster suggested, but eventually your renters will pay your house off for you. Then you will be doing more then breaking even… Yes you will eventually have some issues with tenants or with your rental property but that’s business...

I look forward to the day my rental properties are paid off and the majority of the rent is going straight in to my pocket, or having an asset that I can sell for cash when I am old and gray...

I am a realtor by the way... So now you can say you kind of talked to one..

:howdy: