Moving, Do I Keep Current House?

We are planning on moving out of state, 8 hours away. We have had our current house for about 3 years, and have put a lot of money into it that we may not get back.

Is it feasible to have a management company run the house while we are so far away? I read some posts where people only like to drive 30 minutes or less to their property. How much trouble could I be looking at if I rent it out?

Thanks,
Vince

I won’t invest out-of-area but some folks do very successfully (at least that’s their story and they’re stickin’ to it!)…

I would say that if you’re comfortable with it and it’ll cashflow (to the positive, of course) after all of the expenses – including the PM, and can afford a second property to live in, then do it. If it will continue to not appreciate to what you’ve got into it and it’s gonna be an alligator, sell it and cut your losses.

DISCLAIMER: Others’ opionions and mileage may vary depending driving conditions and habits…

Keith

Well - being 8 hours away, you certainly would need a PM. If there is an emergency in the middle of the night, you couldn’t get there very fast.

You have to have enough cash flow coming in to justify keeping the house and hiring a PM. If you are just breaking even, I would just sell the property.

Maybe do a lease to own, so you are selling it, but actually making some money on it for a while?

You might want to check out Property Management for Dummies, (they have a book for everything :slight_smile: ) - it has a section on pros and cons of using a PM and how to find a good one.

Thanks for all of the replies. Yes, the Dummies books do cover just about every subject. I will do an analysis to see if it is worthwhile. I am just getting all of the financial statements together and assessing current rents.

Vince