Our old home was converted to a rental property a few years ago when we bought the new place. I am considering my options. Here are the numbers:
Current Zillow value is $260k. Just made my last mortgage payment, so it's ours free and clear.
Property tax is $3k, insurance another $500.
Rent is $900, but going up to $1100. Zillow claims it should be $1600.
Tenants are great, haven't had one day of vacancy, they do a good job maintaining it, pay rent on time. We pay $47 in home warranty a month, tenants cover the technician fee ($75) if anything breaks down. They could not handle $1600 rent, $1100 was stretch.
I'm not very fond of land lording, but these tenants are headache free. However, with a management company I'm sure I can get more per month, with some overhead.
I like owning real estate as a hedge against the stock market. There is some emotional security from owning a house free and clear (IE if the fit hits the shan, we'll always have a house).
Options:
1. Keep things as is
2. Sell off property. Slew of options with proceeds (REITs? More stocks/Bonds? Pay off personal mortgage? A little of each?)
3. Evict tenants (or raise the rent), spend a little to update it (carpets need to be replaced, ouch!) and re-rent via a management company.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.