Hi all, would really appreciate some insight on what to do with our house. I have a hunch what the smart decision would be, but I need some reinforcement.
The house is close-in on the East Side of Portland OR, in a highly walkable neighborhood about 3 miles from downtown; both Walk Score and Bike Score are 90+. It's an old Craftsman bungalow, 3 bed/1 bath, that has had a lot of work put into it, both functional (new hot water heater, new furnace, new siding, insulation), and cosmetic (tore out the fugly 1960s dropped ceiling, uncovered/refinished the original hardwoods, new interior trim, new built-ins, etc.).
After refinancing a few times, we have about 25 years left on a 30-year mortgage at 3.875% (I know!), and payments around $1600, of which about $1,250 is principal+interest. We owe about $200k, and a real estate agent told us she'd price the house at $625k if we were to sell it and expect to receive offers above asking price, so let's say the market value might be around $640k or so. The real estate agent also said that she thinks the house is in great shape for listing and doesn't need any fixes / updates / paint freshening, etc.
I got a new job in Seattle, and my wife's work is portable/remote, so we're exploring a move. I would have the option to go remote, but I like the idea of spending at least some time in the office, and no state income tax in WA vs. 10% in OR is also appealing.
Question is what to do with our Portland house. We don't necessarily need to sell it to come up with a down payment on another house, we've put in a lot of blood sweat and tears, and frankly if we sell it, I don't expect to ever be able to buy in a comparable Portland neighborhood again. Property appreciation here (and everywhere, I guess) has been stratospheric, so I can't see how selling the house and putting the roughly $400k proceeds in the market is better financially (at least in the short term) than continuing to enjoy our 11% or so annual appreciation on the full $640k value of the house.
It would likely generate something like $2200-$2400 in rent, but I'd use a property manager, so that would come off the top. If we keep it, we would be waiting for one of two things: 1) an even more ridiculous appreciation over the next year or so such that we just can't justify holding on, or 2) potentially coming back in retirement (hopefully 5-10 years away), and building out a MIL suite, which we would either live in part-time or rent out and live in the rest of the house.
It's the first house we've ever owned and we've never owned a rental before. As suggested above, the house is in better shape than many rentals, so wear and tear from a tenant is a bit of a concern, but on the flip side, I expect we could attract a very good tenant.
Thoughts?