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Common and urgent reasons to unload your investment property:

If Real Estate Is Too Much of Your Net Worth

Experts recommend holding investments in at least three or four different asset classes, with a roughly equal portion of your value in each class. If real estate is more than half your net worth, you might want to consider diversifying.

If Long Term Tenants Move Out

Long-term tenants don’t always a allow for continual upkeep on your rental. If your tenants move on, and the market looks strong, you might want list your rental in place of exhaustively upgrading.

Increase in Property Taxes

A times, property taxes go up right alongside home values, sometimes even outpacing them. When property taxes increase, landlords have to pay them out of their rental income, so either their profits go down, or they’ll increase rents to make up the lost revenue. In either case, the situation can get complicated; higher rents mean a smaller tenant pool to draw from, and smaller profits means, well, less money. Only a few successive property tax hikes can make an investment property financially unfeasible.

Reset the Depreciation Clock

Depreciation can play a big part in an investor’s financial strategy. When properties no longer offer any potential depreciation, it’s time to sell, and buy newer properties, thus resetting the depreciation clock.

Seller’s Market

If you’re a short-term investor or have reached the financial capacity of your property, leverage a favorable seller’s market to get the highest return. Work with a knowledgeable real estate broker that understands the local market and its trends, so you know when the best time is to sell.

A Bigger, Better Opportunity Presents Itself

If you’re looking to turn your present investment into a larger one, a 1031 exchange is a valuable tool. The 1031 essentially lets you trade one property for another, a more valuable one, while temporarily deferring capital gains taxes.

An investor can exchange a small duplex for a larger six-unit property, using a 1031 exchange, and then flip that six-unit property for a full apartment building with another 1031 exchange, and defer capital gains from all the transactions. Since capital gains taxes can take a huge bite out of your profits when you sell, being able to delay this tax bill, potentially indefinitely, is incredibly valuable.

This article is highlights from Thomas O’Shaughnessy article, How to Know When It’s Time to Sell Your Property and Buy Another.

So you bought an investment property, now what?

Investing in a home is a great way to build passive income but earning from your investment will take a little groundwork to become a well-oiled machine. This is your beginner’s guide to owning an investment property so you can set up that foundation properly to avoid future headaches.

Make sure it’s livable

It’s important to start with your home inspection before you start making plans. Use the inspection report to prioritize the maintenance issues.

Before a tenant moves in, make sure the home is livable. Handle the important items that affect the livability of the property, either now or in the near future. If the inspector noticed a leak in the roof or holes that could lead to infestation, take care of those first. Other maintenance issues to prioritize are the fuel and the hot water source.

If your city has inspection and registration requirements, be sure to cross check those inspection checklists with your current property. If the property wouldn’t pass now, make sure it will pass by the time the city sees it.

Upgrade the space

Once your property is in livable condition, it’s time to upgrade. If you have any left-over budget after the necessities are handled, consider adding a bedroom or a bathroom where you can find the space. These rooms heavily impact the rental price, and the more you have the higher the price. If there’s no space for another bed or bath, think about finishing the basement or upgrading some of the appliances to make the property more attractive to potential tenants.

Use similar properties in your neighborhood as your inspiration. These units are your competition, think about what you can add, or even take away, that would help you compete. Ask yourself what about your home is unique and in what ways does that affect your rentability? If every unit in your area has hardwoods, how can you make your carpeted home appealing? Maybe new carpet? Or is switching to hardwoods, or vinyl laminate that looks like wood, worth it?

Market it to future tenants

You need two things in your listing: 1) Great Photos 2) An Amazing Description

After you’ve perfected the property, it’s time to tell potential tenants that it’s available. Creating the listing is essential in drawing eyes on the unit so you can show it to as many people as possible.

Renters looking to move are quick to make their first impression of a property with thumbnail photos on a map. So, take lots of great, bright, photos of the entire place to showcase the amenities and show potential tenants what it looks like, then choose the best photo to be the first in the lineup. Remember to get the lighting is just right to show every corner of the listing. Dark photos scare tenants away, making them think the unit is dingy and dirty. Light and bright photos show a clean home that’s move-in ready. They can imagine themselves living there a lot easier than in dark and cramped looking units.

Next, they’ll read the description. This is again where other listings in your area can help you.

Read other listings to structure your description and to draw inspiration on what tenants might think is important. Find the selling points and emphasize those above the unique features, especially if those unique features are obvious in the photos.

When To Sell An Investment Property

So you bought an investment property, now what?

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