Without knowing the details it is impossible and silly for anyone to say to buy or not to buy. One advantage you have in living there is you know all the stuff a normal buyer never could. Like does your crazy neighbor walk around drunk and naked screaming at aliens. Or even simple things like what works or doesnt work with the house. You may have a great house in great condition that could sell under market in a short sale because its surrounded by lousy comps full of mold, stripped cabinets and appliances that will pull it down when the lender does their bpo. There is no way for any of us to say without knowing the details.
I do have one going on right now where the tenants family is the perfect buyer. Tenant is disabled and his rent is paid by family trust. He is older and moving him would be catostrophic (seriously). Their monthly carrying costs with 20% down (about $25K of which $8K will come back as a tax credit)will be $400/month less than rent and they get a tax benefit and principal reduction over time as he will likely be around another 10 to 20 years or more. For them its a no brainer. That’s a $4,800 return on a $17,000 investment each year. And then there is the tax benefits. Beat that anywhere?
For you it depends on more variables than any of us cold armchair quarterback on.
Nice meeting you too Dan. BTW, there are lots of tricks I have learned from listing and closing shorts that could be exploited in reverse to help buyers get them.
