If you had a rental property and your tenant was leaving at the end of the month, would you sell or find another tenant? What would you do in this situation.
Allow me to give you the background story…
I’ve always been into investing my money. I’ve had a job ever since I can remember. Back in 2003, the summer of grade ten, I picked up three jobs where I would work a grocery store, cut grass, and referee soccer games. I saved most of my money that summer. Ever since then I’ve been into making money and investing it. This is probably why I worked full-time in college.
In 2007 I decided to finally take a huge risk (could’ve been very foolish) and I bought a condo at a pre-construction sale straight from the builder. I didn’t have all the of the money (not a wise move), but I knew that the payments would force me to work harder and save more money.
The condo wasn’t ready until 2010. This worked out well because I was able to save up some money and finish college. I ended up living in this place for just over a year, including two of the best summers of my life. Last September, I decided to finally rent my condo out and start to travel the world more.
Fast forward to today. My tenant is now leaving at the end month and I need to decide what to do. Should I find a new tenant or just sell the place? The value went up so I would definitely make money on this. I could take the profit and my initial investment and then use this money for other investments.
I got lucky because I had the best tenant possible. I screened thoroughly, but you still never know with a tenant. I ended up on the winning end. I doubt I’ll ever find a cool tenant like that.
I’m just not sure if I should get out of real estate or if I should just find another tenant. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
If you have any questions on the topic of buying vs renting a home, you should check out my guide on the topic.
If you sell the condo, what will you alternatively do with that money? Invest in yourself? Keep it for emergencies, etc?
Also, it depends on how much rental income per month you need to finance your lifestyle….
Just my two cents.
I say sell it and use to proceeds to do a 3-6 month travel around the world. On the bright side, you won’t have to pay property taxes anymore.
Or you could use it to buy another lucrative property and rent that one out…..
Thanks for your feedback Ryan.
Not sure what I’ll do with the money. Definitely re-invest though. The rental income is not helping finance my lifestyle at all to be honest. It barely adds anything.
When’s your blog launching?
Rental properties only start to pay back after the 2nd or 3rd one. The first one is the learning curve. 🙂 If real estate and being a landlord isn’t your thing, you should just sell it and invest the money in other financially rewarding endeavors that you actually love doing.