I do not have the experience so I am hoping areblespy wades in.
That's a good way to get me to post. :)
That HOA is pretty rough on your cash flow.
Being a condo, I'd estimate you'll see more like 35% expenses when you self manage and pay the Realtor to rent it, 40% when you get a manager.
Then subtract the condo fees.
The 15 year mortgage also messes up your calculations, so let's ignore that for a moment. You're also close to paying it off, only owing ~4.4K, and only $20/mo going to interest. Since that will pay off in less than a year and 1/2, probably better to run the numbers after, IMO.
When you switch to a PM: 950 rent - 40% expenses - 326/mo HOA = 244/mo. cash flow. If you owned it outright (which you will soon, and is our assumption), and it was worth 51k that's a 5.7% return, fairly meh.
Though you'll probably lose ~9% to sell (6% Realtor costs, a few percent closing costs, a few percent to price just under the market if you want to sell quick), so it's more like 2928 cash flow out of 46410 after selling costs = 6.3%.. still eh, but if you expect some appreciation too, it's not horrible.
Watch out for those HOA special assessments - read through all the financials as they are right now, and check the latest reserve study and projections.
6) I am concerned that I am being inpatient or greedy by saying “Oh it's only 3.6K a year.” Some of you guys make it by on less than 10-15K a year.
Imagine if you had 10 of them. :) Even if not, it helps offset some FIRE expenses, and provides steady cash flow, assuming it's a good rental (decent area, decent tenants) for market down years. If it gives you 3k/yr, at a 4% rule that saves you from saving 75k more in your portfolio, even though it's only giving you 3k annually. It all adds up.
Leaving the equity intact and earning a decent return and diversifying a little may be worth it. This is an edge case, not a clear sell (as most are when people come on), or clear hold. If you understand the risks of RE and want the diversification in your portfolio, and have a good PM in mind, it's probably slightly over the "keep" line, IMO.
Hope that helps a little. :)