We own a studio apartment in Manhattan, bought it for cash* 8 years ago, have been renting it out since then. The idea was that we would eventually take it over and use it when we went up there, and as sort of a test to see if we would like living there.
The co-op changed the sublet rules and we will need to have the tenant out by the end of the year. This is where we would have done our takeover. But ... I just quit my job, and though my husband has a good job and we are fine with our money, having that expense every month (~$800 maintenance, includes taxes) makes me nervous, especially for something we are not sure we'll use that much.
So it's on the market now with a good agent. She cleaned it up and it looks beautiful (tenant is cooperating -- we are on good terms). We have had one very lowball offer. We already priced it at $20k less than we paid (it's at the bottom end of the price spectrum, so that's a fairly significant chunk), and the offer was about $50k less than our asking price. We negotiated a bit but the buyer decided against it. And this got me thinking: if we have to sell it at THAT much of a loss, we might as well keep it for a while. I know, at this point we would be throwing additional money at it to keep it, but OTOH, we don't need the cash we would derive from selling it, either. IOW, we are not desperate. We might as well get some enjoyment out of it if we're going to lose money anyway. And maybe the market will improve (though who knows). It's not a fancy place but it's in a fantastic location.
Thoughts?
*Cash b/c sold another property, the house I bought before I met my husband. Reinvested in this place and deferred capital gains tax.