In Dec. 2011, I got pretty lucky on timing and bought a rental house for $150k. Today it's worth ~$360k. I've had it rented the whole time, and I don't particularly love being a landlord, but I've liked the consistent income. My theses for holding it are starting to change. My "good tenant" from past three years is moving out. I liked that it was zoned for a good Jr. High School, which could have helped my kids if necessary, but they just got into a charter school I like that runs through Jr. High. And I had a feeling the market was "cheap" when I bought it, but now I don't really believe that. I think my area will see "normal" appreciation going forward, possibly even a real estate price decline. (Our area got hit with a loss of around 60% from peak to trough during the real estate collapse a decade ago.) So I'm considering selling. The challenges with selling would be: a) tax bill of around $50k on the gain and another ~$15k in real estate commissions, b) no great options of where to put the funds. For the real estate investors out there: The current CAP rate would be a measly 4% or so for someone buying a today's prices with today's rents.
So my question is: Should I sell the house, or keep it and try to find a new good tenant?
So my question is: Should I sell the house, or keep it and try to find a new good tenant?