Hey everyone - I found MMM about a month ago, and have been learning as much as I can. I'm hoping for some help with a rent vs sell scenario, as we are moving out of state:
Market Value: $250K
Original Purchase price: $230K
Original Mortgage Amount: $230K
Interest Rate: 2.6%
Mortgage Term: 7/1 ARM
Term remaining: three years until first rate change - 26 years total remaining
Amount remaining on mortgage: $210K
Gross Rents: I could rent it out for $1800 / mo
Principal and Interest (the P&I of your PITI - should match with the above info): $950 / mo
Taxes and Insurance (the T&I of your PITI): $375 / mo
HOA costs: $25 / mo
Assuming 10% property management fee and one vacant month a year, I'd be +$1620 cash flow per year before maintenance. The goal would just be to break even or have a slightly negative cash flow after including maintenance. Then, comparing the two scenarios at sale time assuming very modest appreciation with inflation:
SELL TODAY: Sale price $250K - $210K on mortgage - $20K closing: Walk away with $20K
RENT, THEN SELL IN THREE YEARS: Sale price $270K - $190K on mortgage - $20K closing: Walk away with $60K (minus capital gains tax)
I realize my property doesn't meet the 2% or even the 1% rule. However, plotting out these numbers, it really looks like renting is the way to go. Am I missing something here? Are my assumptions about costs as a landlord too low? Should my expected maintenance be significantly more than $2K / yr? I think the low interest rate is what's making this look so good - every year I keep the house, I gain about $6K in equity. The other factor is that I didn't put any money down, so there's not a ton of opportunity cost (just the $20K I could get by selling now). If I can stay around cash flow neutral, I'd basically double that money in three years even ignoring any appreciation.
I've been thinking about this a lot, and I would really appreciate any feedback you all have to offer.