To Sell or Not to Sell?

Back in July, Roy replaced the shutters on the stone house. The old ones were made of wood and they were rotting with peeling paint. The living room window didn't even have any.

He replaced them with black vented style ones and they look much better. We haven't done anything else to the house cosmetically since but we did get an appraisal done.

This week I sent in an appeal form to the county to get my real estate tax assessment reviewed because the county's assessment of the house is a whopping $36,800 higher than the appraised market value. It's not really a big difference if you're talking about million dollar homes (and I would love my house to be worth that much higher) but come on, man. The houses around it are assessed much lower and more in line with current market values so something is off here. Real estate taxes are just getting ridiculous.

Which brings up the question of whether we should sell the house in the near future or not. I've been pondering this for a while and I'm leaning towards selling. We have great tenants that pay on time but this house is not meant to be a rental property and it's not worth the ROI. I'm hoping the assessment appeal is successful and a lower assessment value will be more attractive to potential buyers if we do decide to put it on the market. The house needs new bathrooms and a kitchen, among other upgrades and rehabbing so the buyer will need all the help they can get. And right now I need all the help I can get!

The only thing keeping me from selling it is that my mom once told me to never sell the house. Doh! Not sure what the reason behind that request was but I'm guessing it's because she wanted her kids (and grandkids?) to always remember her and this is her memorial or something. I really don't know. But realistically, keeping the house is not beneficial financially unless we are living in it to enjoy the upgrades and modifications that need to be put into it (and that's a LOT). Her wishes matter a great deal to me but I wonder if she would still feel that way if she were alive. There's been both good and bad memories at this house and what if I regret selling it in the future?

I don't think I will though because it's a house. Yes, it's my mom's house but everyone has a childhood home and eventually it becomes a fond memory. We all become a memory. Whether the house is in my possession or not, my memories and love for my mother will not change. Hopefully Roy and I will find our own little house to start a family in so we can begin new memories. 

On the other hand, in real estate class our teacher told us that, as investors, we should never be selling, only buying. Transaction fees are killer too, so we'll see what happens. Stay tuned.

UPDATE: The assessment board hearing took place on 09/26/13 and they lowered my property value by $21,500.  Yay! That's a savings of about $356 a year in taxes.