
Loading summary
Ashley Kerr
Today we're tackling the question of when it's time to sell your investment property. We'll explore the clear signals that might be telling you it's time to cash out and move on.
Tony J. Robinson
Whether you're feeling overwhelmed with maintenance issues, seeing shifting market conditions, or you just really need to level up how you analyze your investment properties, this episode will give you the clarity you need to make that tough decision.
Ashley Kerr
I'm Ashley Kerr.
Tony J. Robinson
And I'm Tony J. Robinson.
Ashley Kerr
And welcome to the Real Estate Rookie Podcast. Today we are doing a rookie reply episode and we have our first question. So this question is, I bought my first duplex in December 2024. I bought this turnkey because I wanted to have a stable start. I still invested 35,000 into updates and renovations. I'm thinking about the next property and strategy. There will still be money left for a conventional purchase with 20 to 25% down, again, a turnkey property. But I've also been thinking about doing a brrrr. I feel like I'm not experienced enough to start this strategy yet. What do other rookie investors do? When did you start doing brrrrs? Obviously, we know the positive aspects, but can people share all the negative aspects of it? So first of all, to kind of give some premise to this question, a burr is when you buy your property, you rehab the property, you rent out the property, and then you refinance, pull your money back out, or at least some of it, and then you repeat the process and use that money again to go ahead and do another burr. So the difference here with this question is that this person has experience doing a turnkey property where you don't need any kind of, you know, rehab experience, the property is ready to go. Sometimes there's property management in place. One of the companies that does this is rent to retirement and they provide you with a property, show you how to analyze it, they show you, you know, what the market analysis is, basically gives you all the information and the property is ready to go. They'll place a tenant for you if there's not already in one in place.
Tony J. Robinson
And.
Ashley Kerr
And then they have that, you have the option to use them for property management too. So that's kind of the turnkey model. So the BRRRR model is you're buying a property that needs to be fixed up. It's not turnkey, it's not ready to be rented, and this is where you get a value add. So the difference with turnkey and, you know, finding a fixer upper is that there is some value that you can Add by fixing the property up and usually there is going to be a better return on a brrrr if you do it correctly and run your numbers correctly, then a turnkey because you're putting more work into the brrrr strategy by actually doing the rehab instead of buying a property that's already done up and ready to go. So this question is, can a rookie investor do a brrrr and how do you actually start? So Tony, what would be your advice to this person?
Tony J. Robinson
Yeah, I mean, so you know when to do a bureau, I think first and you did a great job I think, defining differences between these two kind of strategies. But I just want to talk about the pros and cons of turnkey because honestly we don't talk about turnkey probably enough on the podcast, but it is really a viable option for a lot of people who are looking to get started because the, the pros of, of turnkey are really that it's, it's easier. You know, it's like imagine going to Zillow, but instead of seeing properties that are empty, you're finding properties that are fully leased up with tenants inside that are cash flowing. So there's a definite ease of use when you go turnkey because as you said, the turnkey provider, they've already done all the work of finding the deal, doing the renovations, getting the tenant placed, et cetera, et cetera. You're getting a fully completed product. The other pro of turnkey is the speed component. You can go on to most large turnkey providers, like if you go to like rent to retirement, you can go shop their entire inventory of turnkey properties right now and you could go back next month and buy another one and go back next month and buy another one. Like they have the volume to consistently fill your portfolio with new properties. So if your goal is I want the easiest path with the easiest ability to scale, then turnkey does a phenomenal job of doing that, right? The ease and the speed. I think the cons of turnkey are kind of what you alluded to before. When you, when you burr a property, you're kind of going through that process yourself of creating that value. But when you buy turnkey, they've basically did the burr already and they're selling you that finished product. So you, you do miss out on some of that value creation, on some of that value add. And then the other piece is that you, you can't necessarily recycle your money. And with a traditional brrrr, the, the idea is that you can get back through your Refinance either all or at least a good portion of the capital you invested into that deal so you can then go redeploy that capital into the next deal. With a turnkey property, you're putting down, you know, 15, 20, 25, 30%, whatever it may be. And because there is no value add opportunity, that money's just going to sit in that property. So when I, when I kind of think about pros and cons of turnkey, that's what comes to mind for me. Anything that I might have missed there, Ashley?
Ashley Kerr
I think the other thing is just to like give a con besides just the, you know, not as great of a return of turnkey is that with a bur you have control over the rehab, where a turnkey you don't. So you're getting the finished product whether it's been, you know, a good remodel or a bad remodel, you really don't know. So it's highly recommended you have, you know, an inspection done on the property to make sure it was done correctly. Then the same with a burr like it. That also can be a con of being involved in the rehab that maybe you don't have any idea what you're doing and that can take you so much longer to actually get it to a finished product. So one of the things that I want to discuss here is like the. Your time value for money. Okay, so even though you could get a better return for doing a rehab on a property and doing the burr, how much is your time worth? Because it is going to take more energy and effort, like Tony said, than it would be a turnpike. A turnkey is easier to purchase and does that actually add up to be the same amount, to be more, to be less? So really think about that as to how much time do you actually have to be involved in managing a construction project, finding contractors, all of those things, placing a tenant in place, or do you have the team already built, you have a good contractor, do you have a property manager, do you have a leasing agent? So those are all things to think about too because sometimes it's not worth going after the better return because it's going to be more work and it's going to take up more of your time and maybe in your life right now that's not something that you can take on. So we actually just interviewed someone who was working, you know, their 9 to 5 job and then they went every night and worked all night long at their property that they were doing. And he said how he had gained over 45 pounds. He was having heart problems because it wasn't, you know, the healthy thing, but like, like, that was getting him to his goal. So definitely think about more than what's the greatest return. Think about the path to get there and what's actually better for you, too.
Tony J. Robinson
Yeah, I, you. You made a really good point, too, about, like, not knowing the quality of the rehab. But just one other comment too, because you mentioned that, like, the timepiece, I think even beyond the time, it's just like, do you even want to, like, do you have the desire to go out there and manage contractors and do all those things? Because so maybe you do have the time, you do have the ability, but just in your heart of hearts, you don't like the idea of actually managing contractors and doing rehabs, then maybe the burst strategy isn't the right strategy for you. So it's the, it's the time, it's the ability, but it's also the desire component that we got to, we got to consider. And then going back to the point you made too, actually about, like, depending on which turnkey provider you. You purchase from, you really don't know what you're stepping into. And this person who asked the question, they did make a comment that I thought was kind of interesting, but they said that they, they invested an additional $35,000 into updates and renovations after buying at Turnkey. And to me, that seems a little, like, counterintuitive. Like, if it's turnkey, it means that, you know, on day one, the key is ready to turn. We don't need to do anything else. It seems like this, at least this initial turnkey product, maybe not maybe wasn't like an actual true turnkey if you need to invest into the 35,000. So just something else to consider that maybe the next time you do it, either vetting the. The property a little bit further or maybe picking a different turnkey provider. But I think going back to, like, the other part of the question, right, because we talked a little bit about the difference between current turnkey and brrr. But, you know, the kind of big part of this question was how do you know when you're experienced enough to start a brrr? And I don't know if there's like, a magic thing you have to do before you're qualified enough to do a brrrr. Like, my very first deal was a brrrr. Actually, I believe yours was too. Right. Your first deal was a rehab property as well, right?
Ashley Kerr
Yeah, very small rehab, just flooring cabinets.
Tony J. Robinson
Very minimal, but still, right we, we, we rehabbed properties as our very first deal and there was no, you know, thing we had to do to make us feel qualified to do that. I think what's more important than saying, you know, like, like at what point am I ready? I think the bigger question to ask is how good of a team do I have? How good of a deal do I have? And if you've got a really killer deal, if you've got a really killer contracting and GC team, I think those are the elements that would say, okay, now I'm ready to step into doing a brrrr. Now I probably wouldn't do something that's like, you know, taking it down to the studs on your, on your first burr. But like Ashley said, if you're doing like a light cosmetic or maybe like a medium type renovation, which is what I did for my first one, it does feel like a good starting spot, assuming you have the right support mechanisms in place.
Ashley Kerr
We're going to take a quick ad break, but when we come back, we're going to figure out if maybe the best solution to your investment property is actually selling it. We'll be right back.
Ad Sponsor
Check this out. Funding your next real estate deal might be easier than you think. Simply by using your retirement account with a self directed ira, you can invest those retirement funds into real estate while reducing or eliminating taxes. And here's the best part. You don't need a huge IRA to get started. You can partner with other IRAs or funding sources to make it work as BiggerPocket's exclusive self directed IRA provider Equity Trust brings over 50 years of experience and 58 billion in assets under custody and administration. Get started online in minutes@trustetc.com BP that's trustetc.com BP they say money doesn't grow on trees, but it does grow in your home's equity. Time to harvest that cash. With Vigar, the 1 non bank HELOC lender, you can unlock up to $400,000 to create, update or renovate a home equity line of credit offers low interest rates, flexible bar borrowing and repayment options, and potential tax advantages, making it a smart, cost effective way to fund your projects. Skip the appraisals, paperwork and waiting. Figure's easy online application gets you approved in minutes with funding in as few as five days. Fixed rates and flexible terms mean more power to you. Start building the home you've imagined. Visit biggerpockets.com figure that's biggerpockets.com figure if.
You'Re in the landlord game, then you know the importance of solid tenant screening. That's where Rent Ready steps in. Now RentReady has a new feature, Proof of Income Verification. And get this, with Plaid certified reports, you'll see everything from income summaries to total earnings by month. So say goodbye to those gut check moments and say hello to confidence in renting with Rent Ready. Rent Ready is actually included in your Pro membership at BiggerPockets. If you're not a pro, they're offering a six month plan for $1. You can't beat that. Visit rentready.com, that's R E N T R E D I.com and use the code BPInvestor. That's BP. Like BiggerPockets Investor get six months of rent ready for just one dollar.
Ashley Kerr
Okay, welcome back from our short break. We are here with our second question. So this question is a bit worried. I live in one of the fastest growing cities in America and purchased a duplex in 2022. Tony, real quick before we go on, do you have any guess as to what this city is fastest growing city in America?
Tony J. Robinson
I have no idea. I want to say probably, maybe like Columbus, Ohio if I had to guess somewhere.
Ashley Kerr
Yeah, they don't tell us so we'll never know. But maybe. If this is your question and you know you want to leave it in the comments on YouTube, we'd love to know which fastest growing city you're talking about. But they purchased a duplex in 2022. I would say it's in a C area, but it is just close to downtown and the area has been changing for the better over the last few years with new homes going up and a lot of renovations to existing homes. I purchased this property for the long term appreciation knowing it wouldn't cash flow for a few years and it had already been rehabbed before I purchased. The reason as to why I'm concerned is that according to online estimates, it has only appreciated from the purchase price of 321,000 to about 350,000. Although yes, this is an estimated $29,000 increase. Rent seem to be slowing down and I've been having to make a lot of unexpected repairs without having the cash flow for it. I'm wondering how much longer I should wait to see what's going on before deciding to sell. If it wasn't for the issues I'm having with it, I wouldn't consider selling, but getting tenants in this area has been difficult. Deciding if I should wait till the value is up around 400,000 so that I could at least net 60 to 70,000 from the sale to put that in a better property, in a better area. Am I overreacting? Am I being impatient? Yes. I'm in it for the long game. However, financially, it's screwing me over a bit on a month to month basis. And I've had to accumulate almost $20,000 in debt to make repairs since purchasing. Okay, so a lot to unpack here. But Tony, I think we should go back up to the top here. And there was something here that caught my eye that I wanted to address. As far as they made the purchase knowing that they wouldn't have any cash flow and they were playing the appreciation play. Which famous real estate investor comes to mind using this strategy?
Tony J. Robinson
Oh, I don't know. Pop quiz here. Who is it? I don't know.
Ashley Kerr
David Green. I have heard him talk about how he will buy properties that break even knowing that they will appreciate. Okay, so maybe this person listened to David Green. So their plan is to hold on to this property for a few years. They purchase it in 2022. 2022 was also. Where was the market at at 2022, Tony?
Tony J. Robinson
Pretty good for the first part of it and then started to turn a little bit as we got to the back half of that year.
Ashley Kerr
Yeah. So they could have bought this at kind of the height of the after Covid market. And that's why they're not seeing much appreciation yet. So if anything, when looking at appreciation plays, I think if that is going to be your plan and you are not going to count on cash flow, that you have to have a lot of reserves in place. First of all, because like, this person had to go into $20,000 in debt to just cover repairs and maintenance that come up on this property. So I think putting, you know, having a large amount in reserves, but also planning on holding onto it for more than three years, like at least having the plan if you get to sell it in three years yet, like, yay, great, it appreciated faster than you actually planned for. But I think that you need to have a plan in place for it to appreciate longer than three years. I mean, if you would have bought in, you know, 20, March of 2020, when Covid hit, I bought a single family home for $27,000 and I sold it six months later after fixing it up for like 160. That was perfect timing buying and, you know, I did some rehab to it, but like, I never expected to get that much money for it. But I bought it at the perfect time and was ready to Sell at the height of COVID market. So unless, you know, you end up having that perfect timing that you may have to hold a property for longer than that amount of time or at least plan for it.
Tony J. Robinson
Actually, you bring up a good point, I think before we even get into, like, the. Should you sell or should you not? Like, let's just talk about a few of these important things. So, like, the appreciation part, I agree. Like, I think the timeframe of three years is kind of like a short window to really make that assessment. I think, like, I did the math here really quickly, right? And they said that it increased by what, $29,000? Yeah. So over the, over those two years, that was a 9% increase. So you're averaging about four and a half percent appreciation each year, which is like, pretty much right in line with where, like, the larger real estate market is moving.
Ashley Kerr
But also, Tony, they said that they got this off. I don't know if it said exactly, but as far as, like, online estimates, I think so. Like, if your online estimate is Zillow, I would not go off that number. Your online estimate or your, you know, what you think the property should be, should be from pulling comparables, and it should be your number that you found yourself. So I'm not sure exactly what they mean by online estimate, but you should be looking at houses sold in that market that are similar to yours, that are comparable to actually get a better value, instead of just looking at a Zillow estimate as to what your property is worth. Because I've had a Zillow estimate say that my Property was worth 500,000 when really it was a single family home worth 50,000. Someone just input the wrong zero in there. So I would not go off of that estimate at all.
Tony J. Robinson
I think the other thing to consider too is like, how does this person see appreciation continuing in the future? Because they said that it's in a sea area, but it's close to downtown areas getting better. So does that mean that appreciation could actually accelerate, you know, in year three and year four and year five? And it's like, you really don't know. But I think the one last thing, and you know, it's an important question to ask, is, like, what did you actually base your appreciation target on? Like, what kind of appreciation were you expecting? Were you hoping to see it appreciate at, you know, those kind of 20, 21 levels when things were just going gangbusters? Because if so, you were setting yourself up for failure to begin with or what? Like, what was your actual target? And then I Think the last thing too that I, I questioned, you know, if I could talk to this person was it said that they, they bought it knowing that it wouldn't cash flow. But I'd want to know like when you, when you made that decision, were you simply looking at your rent minus your mortgage payment and that was basically zero and you said, okay, cool, I'll break even. Did you not take into account vacancy capex, maintenance, repairs, etc. Because if so, then again, from the beginning I think you were somewhat setting yourself up for failure by only looking at your principal interest, taxes and insurance is your only expense.
Ashley Kerr
Here's something I've actually been thinking of on that strategy of. Since it is a lot harder now to find cash flow and you know, banking on appreciation, this is what I'd want this, this person to do is sit down and run the numbers on. Okay, you've already put in $20,000 of your own money on this property. So you know, that's about a little less than. Tony, do the math for me. For over a course of a year, $20,000, that's a little less than $2,000 a month. And look at that as an investment. Okay, so what if you put that much money into the stock market every year? That's money out of sight, out of mind. What does that accumulate to like look at your repairs and maintenance that you said, you know, there's issues with the property that keep coming up. What will it cost you over the next three more years to cover that? How much are you coming out of pocket? So say, but that $20,000 and say over the next three years another 20,000. So that's $40,000 that you're investing back into that property. If the property keeps appreciating at four and a half percent every single year, what does that property value end up being? And does it out beat the $40,000 you put into it? Or is it going to be negative that you're putting in more than, than what it's worth? Because like people put money into the stock market, people put money into investments where they're not getting any specific return at the moment. They wait, they wait for that. They reinvest their dividends or they're not getting any dividends and they wait until that time they get to retirement to sell that stock or whatever it may be. So think of it that way too, with that kind of mindset as to if you are investing that much money over the period of time and you choose that you have that extra money so not going into Any more debt, but you have that extra money to take and invest into that property to make it better, is the property going to appreciate three more years down the road? Staying at that four and a half percent. Be super conservative when estimating your appreciation. We have a new president. We don't know what could happen over the next four years with the market. Even if there wasn't a new president, we couldn't, you know, guess exactly what's going to happen over the next four years. But I think that looking at it, kind of shifting your mentality as to, is that a way that you could actually make it work? And maybe in this person's situation, but if there's somebody else listening that maybe is thinking, I want to go for the appreciation play and I want to, I'm just going to break even on cash flow. I can get a deal like that. What do the numbers look like if you're investing, you know, a couple hundred dollars every month into the property or $20,000 a year into the property? And how does that actually pencil out in the long run?
Tony J. Robinson
Yeah, I think you hit the nail on the head of, like, what kind of return can you expect to get looking forward? But I think the other part of that question that we have to answer is, well, what are you, like, what are you going to do with that capital if you were to sell today? And do you believe that you can go out and maybe get a property in a, in a market that will appreciate better, you know, or are you just going to kind of put yourself into the exact same position, but now you've just gone through the hassle of selling this property and buying another one, you know, so you got to ask yourself what, what the, what the use of those funds will be? And I think just, just like one last point to you on just like assessing the current property, the $20,000 in repairs you didn't mention in this question, but like, if there's a property manager in place, I would really, really go over a lot of those repairs with a fine tooth comb. Because depending on the property manager, I think, you know, most real estate investors have probably experienced at least once in their portfolio that sometimes the charges for some of these repairs are a little outrageous. Sometimes the, the, the necessity of these repairs aren't super high, but because the PM either maybe gets a, a commission or maybe it's their own property, like a maintenance company that they're, they're sending their own folks out there to do these things. It's not the profit center for them. So for them they want to do as many repairs as they possibly can. And they see this rookie investor with this property that maybe isn't in all that terrible condition. But they're new, they don't know any better. Now you're just, you know, you're an extra $20,000 in revenue for them each year. So I would really seriously consider reevaluating those expenses to see if they're, if they're really necessary and if those prices are really reasonable.
Ashley Kerr
So here to answer the question, this is what I'm going to say. I'm going to say if you're going to continue going into debt for this property, you should sell it now and get out of it instead of continuously going into debt and adding more debt and more financial strain on yourself. I would. But first, before you decide to do that, I would get an opinion from a real estate agent. I would pull comparables to see what the actual value of the property is. If you sold now and then, I would see what it would cost for you to actually maintain that property for another year, another two years to hopefully gain more appreciation on the property and if it's worthwhile for you. But if you're going to go into more debt, I would say sell the property.
Tony J. Robinson
Couldn't agree with you more actually. So well said.
Ashley Kerr
Okay, Rickies, we want to thank you so much for being here and listening to the podcast. We want to hit 100,000 subscribers and we need your help. If you aren't already, please head over to our YouTube channel. You can go to YouTube.com eaterookie and subscribe to our channel. We have to take one final ad break, but we'll be back with more after this.
Ad Sponsor
Looking to build serious long term wealth in real estate, a 1031 exchange can be one of the smartest ways to make that happen. This strategy lets you defer capital gains taxes while reinvesting in new properties. Whether you're looking to diversify into new markets or different property types, Equity 1031 Exchange will guide you through every step. Learn how to defer taxes and reinvest smarter in just minutes. Visit getequity1031.com bprookie that's getequity1031.com BProokie your future home is hiding right inside your current one. Let's bring it out with figure you can transform your home using a powerful home equity line of credit. Unlock up to $400,000 and enjoy low interest rates, flexible borrowing and repayment options that fit your life. Plus take advantage of potential tax benefits that stretch your budget further. Apply 100% online, no in person apprais needed, and see funding in as few as five days as the number one non bank HELOC lender figure has helped homeowners across 47 states access over $13 billion. Competitive fixed rates make this the smarter way to finance Ready to renovate? Visit BiggerPockets.com figure today. That's BiggerPockets.com figure listeners, I'm telling you.
Now, it's not every day you find a game changer like Rent Ready. They're not just stopping with just tenant screening. They've rolled out proof of income verification. Let Rent Ready handle the heavy lifting with automatic checks on financial stability and earnings plus with Plaid certified reports, you'll have all the info you need right at your fingertips. Rent Ready is actually included in your Pro membership at BiggerPockets, but if you're not a pro, they're offering a six month plan for just a dollar. How great is that? So visit rentready.com that's R E N-T R E D I.com and use the code BP Investor. That's BP like BiggerPockets Investor to get six months of rent ready for a dollar.
Ashley Kerr
You just realized your business needed to hire someone yesterday. How can you find amazing candidates fast? Easy. Just use Indeed. When it comes to hiring, Indeed is all you need. That means you can stop struggling to get your job notice on other job sites. Indeed's sponsored job posts help you stand out and hire the right people quickly. Your job post jumps straight to the top of the page where your ideal candidates are looking. And it works. Sponsored jobs on indeed get 45% more applications than non sponsored posts. The best part? No monthly subscriptions or long term contracts. You only pay for results. And speaking of results, in the minute I've been Talking to you, 23 people just got hired through Indeed Worldwide. There's no need to wait any longer. Speed up your hiring right now with Indeed and listeners of the show will get a $75 sponsored job credit. To get your jobs more visibility at Indeed.com Rookie just go to Indeed.com Rookie right now. Support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. That's indeed.com rookie terms and conditions apply. Hiring Indeed is all you need.
Tony J. Robinson
So I recently took a trip and I was sitting at the airport eating a $30 burrito and it hit me. While I was off to see the world, my home was literally just sitting there empty, unused, not making me any money. And that's when I realized I could be making some extra cash to offset my mediocre airport food expenses and then some. Because if you're traveling, why not have your home work for you? That's where Airbnb comes in. You can list your place and make some extra money while you're off collecting new experiences. You know, whether it's a weekend getaway, a work trip, or that long overdue vacation you finally booked. And if the idea of hosting sounds overwhelming, if you're like, oh no, do I have to fold towels into fancy swans? Don't worry. Airbnb's co host network makes it so much easier. You can hire a trusted local co host to handle everything from creating your listing and managing reservations to messaging guests and even providing on site support. So the next time you're thinking about booking a trip, think about who could be booking your place. Your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how much@airbnb.com/host. All right, guys, welcome back. So we are going to get into our last question here. So this one says, looking for ideas we aren't thinking of to get our investment property off of our hands. So a little context. My husband and I bought our first investment property in 2022. It's four commercial units and two apartment units on one property. All of the units are managed by a management company, but major repairs come to us. We have since started a family and have decided the time it takes to maintain this real estate investment is not worth the time away from our little guy. We've had it listed for sale for over a year with a commercial broker with little interest. It needs a new roof. We want it gone and aren't really interested in putting a bunch of money to replace a roof. So actually they're trying to get some advice on how to move a stagnant listing. Obviously, the, the environment that we're in right now, interest rates are a lot higher. It is definitely more of a buyer's market because, you know, there's just not as many people out there looking to purchase right now so that there's some headwinds you're going to face regardless. But I think before we even get into the question of, like, how can you quickly sell this? I think the first question that asks is like, can you avoid selling this all together? So you talked about it to be managed by a property manager. And ideally, if you have a pm, the time involvement from you should be relatively low. So I would question the effectiveness of this pm if you still feel like you're spending so much time on this property that they decided for more than owning it anymore. To me it's like, okay, well what is the PM doing as well? What are your thoughts?
Ashley Kerr
Well, the first thing I think is, it's interesting is both of these questions asking about if they should sell. They both purchased in 2022, so I thought that was, you know, kind of interesting. But with this property, it almost sounds like they just don't want to deal with it. So maybe they're not even having to deal with a lot. It's just like they've already made up their mind, they don't want to deal with it. And even though the property, the property manager could still be managing, but there's still things that could come up. So if the property does have issues or does have problem tenants, the property manager could still be reaching out to the owner. As far as like, this is your property, can we replace the roof? Can we spend this much? You know, most property management companies will set a limit as to how much they are allowed to spend without approval. So maybe there's a low limit set where they're having to constantly ask. Um, maybe it's just that the property management company is over communicating by say, hey, just, you know, this tenant isn't cleaning up their dog waste. We're sending out, you know, notices and they're just annoyed with these inconveniences. Maybe tenants aren't paying rent and annoyed with, you know, not having their rent received in a timely manner. So there could be a lot of issues that, you know, maybe aren't directly correlated with the property manager. But I, there definitely still could be the fact that the property manager is not doing their job to take care of this and get rid of it. But also if they're having to spend a lot of money on repairs and maintenance and upkeep of this property, that's what maybe they could mean as they just don't want to deal with it anymore because it's having to make decisions and decision fatigue is a real thing. And that can come along with being a landlord too. Even with having a property manager, there's still decisions you're going to have to make as the asset manager of the property.
Tony J. Robinson
Couldn't agree more. Actually, there's still, I think some level of oversight that's necessary. I think maybe even beyond the pm. I just wonder if there's things operationally that maybe you could do to make this more enjoyable for you. You know, could you hire maybe a part time virtual assistant? You know, Ash and I both leverage Vas in our business. And I know that's made a big difference for me in terms of the time involvement that I need. When it comes to a lot of these smaller details. Are your operations really dialed in in a way that, that you are kind of removed from that process? So I think before you really commit to selling, just reevaluate in the current state of that, of that property in your operation to see are there any low hanging fruit that we could potentially tackle to make this deal worthwhile to, to keep in our portfolio.
Ashley Kerr
Yeah, they did mention that like even though they have a property manager, major repairs come to them and then they said it's not worth the time away from their little ones. So maybe they're, you know, a contractor or something. So maybe they're actually doing those major repairs themselves. So maybe finding a contractor or handyman that can actually take that on. But then again that may offset their cash flow a lot by them not doing the work on the property too. So that's definitely something to consider.
Tony J. Robinson
Well, let's talk about actually selling now, right? I mean they've had it listed for over a year, hasn't moved yet. I think the thing that comes to mind for me first is like, is, is the broker actually doing their job right? Is this commercial broker that you've brought on to, to sell this property, are they actually doing their job of going out there pounding the pavement trying to find buyers for this property? Does the listing look good? Do they have good professional photos? You know, is the description is, are all the details accurate? What, what listing platforms do they have it on? Or you know, distribution channels? Do they have it on? Like are they doing all the things that a good broker would typically do? And the kind of the, the yins that yang is, are you taking the advice of the broker? You know, have they told you if you really want to sell this thing, we should be doing X, Y and Z. Because if they're giving you that feedback but you're just not taking it well, now the buck kind of stops with you and you've got to kind of do some self assessment to say, okay, well how are we actually the obstacle to this property getting sold?
Ashley Kerr
I think too, if you know there hasn't been any interest, is maybe whenever your listing agreement up is up is we just had Aaliyah on the podcast, we just interviewed her and she actually had a real estate agent that gave her a pitch as to like this is why I can sell this property. Here's other properties I sold in the area. Here's my buyers list I have from the other properties that, you know, they didn't, their offer wasn't accepted and things like that. So maybe going out out and finding a new real estate agent, going to biggerpockets.com agent finder and you know, doing some interviews of agents to see what they can actually bring to the table to help you move this property. Tony, as you said, like maybe is your. Are you not doing the things your agent said? And like, I get it as far as like maybe a new roof would make it more attractive, but you just don't want to put the money in. But maybe that's something they could write into the listing agreement is that you're willing to, you know, hold money and escrow for the roof pair, but leave it up to the person after they close, actually go and do the roof repair, something like that, you know, is there other. Some kind of motivation? Is there any opportunity to. Since it's commercial property, someone could purchase it, get a commercial loan, but you could also do seller financing of their down payment. So you'd get all the money from the loan proceeds. But you could do seller financing for their down payment. So that makes it way more attractive. Commercial lending will do that as long as the numbers still pencil out and the. The property can support a payment to you doing seller financing and a payment to the bank for the commercial loan. So that's maybe a strategy you can incorporate to sell this commercial property is offering a portion of seller financing, so a buyer has to bring less to the table.
Tony J. Robinson
I think the last thing too is just the price. You know, like if you really want to move it, then maybe consider being a little bit more aggressive with your price drop because usually most deals make sense at some number. You know, we don't know what you bought it for, we don't know what it's listed for. So we're not sure how much room there is between those two numbers, like what you owe on it and what you can sell it for today. But if your goal is just to get out of it, and your goal isn't necessarily to, to like make a bunch of money when you sell, then get it as low as you possibly can without you having to actually come out of pocket to get rid of the deal. And sometimes if you really want to get rid of something, you know, talk from a guy who's gone through this experience before, sometimes you might need to write a check at closing to get out of a deal that maybe isn't working the way that you wanted it to. So just know the the price is one lever that tends to have a lot of influence on how quickly a property actually moves.
Ashley Kerr
Well, thank you guys so much for listening to this episode of Real Estate Rookie. Reply if you want to get involved in the real estate Rook community, you can go to biggerpockets.com forums or join us in the Real Estate Rookie Facebook group. And don't forget, we have a brand new Instagram account at Bigger Pockets Rookie. You can find us there. And don't forget to subscribe to our YouTube @RealEstate Rookie I'm Ashley and he's Tony and we'll see you on the next episode.
Real Estate Rookie Podcast Summary
Episode Title: If Your Rental Property Is Doing THIS, You Should Sell It (Rookie Reply)
Release Date: March 14, 2025
Hosts: Ashley Kehr and Tony J. Robinson
Description: Hosted by BiggerPockets, Real Estate Rookie serves as a personal trainer for aspiring real estate investors, providing detailed breakdowns of real-world deals, coaching sessions, and a supportive community. This episode delves into the crucial decision of when to sell an investment property, featuring insightful discussions and actionable advice for novice investors.
Timestamp: 00:00 – 00:28
Ashley Kehr opens the episode by addressing a common dilemma among real estate investors: recognizing the right moment to sell an investment property. Tony J. Robinson emphasizes the factors influencing this decision, including maintenance challenges, market shifts, and the need for improved property analysis skills.
Ashley Kerr:
"Today we're tackling the question of when it's time to sell your investment property. We'll explore the clear signals that might be telling you it's time to cash out and move on."
[00:00]
Tony J. Robinson:
"This episode will give you the clarity you need to make that tough decision."
[00:10]
Timestamp: 00:28 – 10:16
A rookie investor shares their experience with purchasing a turnkey duplex and contemplates transitioning to the BRRRR (Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refinance, Repeat) strategy. The investor is unsure about their readiness to take on BRRRR and seeks insights into the advantages and disadvantages of both methods.
Key Points Discussed:
Tony J. Robinson:
"The pros of turnkey are really that it's easier... you’re getting a fully completed product."
[02:15]
Ashley Kerr:
"With a BRRRR, you have control over the rehab, where with turnkey you don't. So you're getting the finished product whether it's been a good remodel or a bad remodel, you really don't know."
[05:26]
Pros and Cons:
Assessing Readiness for BRRRR:
Tony J. Robinson:
"My very first deal was a BRRRR... assuming you have the right support mechanisms in place."
[09:24]
Ashley Kerr:
"Think about your time value for money... sometimes it's not worth going after the better return because it's going to be more work and take up more of your time."
[07:39]
Timestamp: 12:21 – 24:56
A listener in a rapidly growing city purchased a duplex in 2022 with the expectation of long-term appreciation rather than immediate cash flow. The property has only appreciated modestly, and unexpected repairs have led to significant debt, prompting the investor to consider selling.
Key Points Discussed:
Tony J. Robinson:
"They're averaging about four and a half percent appreciation each year, which is pretty much right in line with where the larger real estate market is moving."
[17:31]
Ashley Kerr:
"If you're going to continue going into debt for this property, you should sell it now and get out of it instead of continuously going into debt and adding more financial strain on yourself."
[24:13]
Strategic Considerations:
Decision-Making Framework:
Ashley Kerr:
"Think of it that way too, with that kind of mindset as to if you are investing that much money over the period of time... does the property value out beat the $40,000 you put into it?"
[19:40]
Tony J. Robinson:
"What did you actually base your appreciation target on? Were you hoping to see it appreciate at like, 2020 levels when things were just going gangbusters?"
[15:14]
Timestamp: 27:01 – 37:31
A listener seeking ideas to sell a multi-unit property containing four commercial units and two apartments has struggled to attract buyers for over a year. The property requires a new roof, and the owners are unwilling to invest further funds into repairs.
Key Points Discussed:
Tony J. Robinson:
"Are your operations really dialed in in a way that you are kind of removed from that process?"
[32:36]
Tony J. Robinson:
"If your goal is just to get out of it, ... get it as low as you possibly can without you having to actually come out of pocket to get rid of the deal."
[36:43]
Ashley Kerr:
"Maybe going out and finding a new real estate agent, going to biggerpockets.com agent finder and... to help you move this property."
[34:52]
Timestamp: 37:31 – End
Ashley and Tony wrap up the episode by reiterating the importance of thorough financial analysis, realistic market assessments, and effective property management in determining whether to hold or sell a property. They encourage listeners to engage with the Real Estate Rookie community for further support and insights.
Ashley Kerr:
"If you're going to go into more debt, I would say sell the property."
[24:13]
Tony J. Robinson:
"Could you hire maybe a part-time virtual assistant?... leverage VAs in our business."
[32:36]
Notable Quotes:
Ashley Kerr on Turnkey vs. BRRRR:
Tony J. Robinson on First BRRRR Deal:
Ashley Kerr on Financial Strain:
Tony J. Robinson on Property Manager Oversight:
Final Thoughts: This episode of Real Estate Rookie provides invaluable guidance for new investors grappling with the complexities of managing and potentially selling their investment properties. Through real-life scenarios and expert advice, Ashley and Tony empower listeners to make informed decisions that align with their financial goals and personal circumstances.
Join the Community: Engage with other real estate rookies and seasoned investors by visiting BiggerPockets Forums or joining the Real Estate Rookie Facebook Group. Follow Real Estate Rookie on Instagram @BiggerPocketsRookie and subscribe to their YouTube Channel for more insights and updates.