I posted this on the Ask board but did not get any responses. Hoping someone here on the Real Estate board (didn't even see this until today!) might have some ideas.
We currently rent out an apartment in NYC to a relative who has been taking great care of the place but needs to leave in a few months. The apartment is paid off. At this point, we're not sure if we should cut our losses and sell at what may be an ok but not great price, or find a complete stranger to rent out the place. There are various pros and cons to doing this.
Pros:
-we'd continue earning an extra couple hundred dollars on the side;
-it's in a very desirable location where the price may go up in a few years
-the building's co-op board to conduct requires an extensive background check on a potential tenant and most likely find someone acceptable.
-it's a great asset to hold on to for years and even rent out in retirement or maybe even sell at a really good price in say 10+ years.
Cons:
-the place will need at least $5k or ore in renovations in a few years, eating into profit.
-tenant could end up being crazy and turning place into a Hoarders episode, eating into any profit.
-we live 1000s of miles away from the property and would rather not have to deal with the hassle of checking up on it from afar or dealing with other issues from afar.
-building maintenance fees are going up every year.
Anyone deal with this before? Sound like too much of an anti-mustachian risk especially since this isn't exactly a property the generates a high income we could even live on and we're not dying for the extra cash. I'm also considering the time investment. I'd rather not spend vacation days flying out east to check on the property.
A few questions-- how bad is capital gains tax? I don't think I'm going to make more than $10k-$20k in profit whenever I do sell. Have any of you dealt with this before and found that you actually lost money in the end? In your experience, when is/isn't a piece of real estate, even in a "good" market, worth holding on to? My sense tells me this apartment could end up being more of a headache in the long run but then again, it is a nice apt.
Lastly, what about being a long distance landlord? Bad idea?