Having read through the forum, I've screwed together the courage and energy to present my own case studies of the five DC condo apartments my wife and I have purchased and rented starting in 2012.
As background, we live in a newly-desirable neighborhood of Washington which we love, and having refinanced our home to shift from a 7/1 ARM to a 30Y fixed, we had some cash and decided to purchase an investment apartment. Finding a tenant who paid rent above our break-even was easy (and even after we purchased four more, that has almost always been the case), and because the apartments are all in high-rise buildings within a few blocks of our house, either the building maintenance took on repairs or I could make a quick trip over to assess what was needed and usually fix it. We've never lived in any of these ourselves, and have no intention to do so, except maybe in 20 years could see having one as a pied-a-terre if we moved outside DC for some or most of the year in semi-retirement. Both my wife and I are in our early 40s, and other than these RE investments, have maxed our 401ks almost since entering the workforce 15 years ago, and have additional taxable investments in index funds; we have lots of equity in our home, and no interest in moving somewhere bigger or more expensive.
The past couple months, we've had a series of repairs in a few of the rental apartments that have been headaches, leaving me to wonder out loud whether the current monthly/annual profits and the deferred, longer-term financial gains are worth it. I end up handling everything relating to the apartments, and although my day job isn't terribly busy now, it has been in the past and likely will be again in the future -- and I couldn't bear to be a landlord who wasn't responsive or was leaving tenants living in a shitty situation waiting for something key to get fixed. (Also, the last thing I want after a 15 hour workday is to come home to deal with someone else's sink or whatever.)
Below are the numbers on each of the five units. The market value figures probably are a little conservative as apartments sell well and quickly in our neighborhood. Looking at these, my hunch is that we probably should keep renting Condos 1,2,4, sell Condo 3 soon, and consider selling Condo 5 if we're not able to rent it at a more competitive price with the next tenant. (Although Condo 5's losses do allow us to shelter some of the gains on the other apartments from federal income tax.)
Thanks to anyone willing to share your thoughts, analysis, or suggestions on how to think about these decisions!
Condo 1:
Market Value: $240k (paid $134k in 2012); Mortgage: 4.25%/30Y, $93k left
Gross Monthly Rent: $1725; Net Monthly Rent (after PITI+HOA): +$481
Condo 2:
Market Value: $265k (paid $185k in 2014); Mortgage: 4.75%/30Y, $128k left
Gross Monthly Rent: $1800; Net Monthly Rent (after PITI+HOA): +$547
Condo 3:
Market Value: $300k (paid $237k in 2016); Mortgage: 4.75%/30Y, $178k left
Gross Monthly Rent: $1825; Net Monthly Rent (after PITI+HOA): +$10
Condo 4:
Market Value: $240k (paid $193k in 2016); Mortgage: 4.25%/30Y, $147k left
Gross Monthly Rent: $1705; Net Monthly Rent (after PITI+HOA): +$246
Condo 5:
Market Value: $265k (paid $257k in 2018); Mortgage: 5.5%/30Y, $202k remaining
Gross Monthly Rent: $1680/mo; Net Monthly Rent (after PITI+HOA): -$371