Ego vs. Economics: Deciding Whether to Live in My Investment Property

From Profit to Peace: When a Tenant Isn’t Worth the Trade-Off

It’s funny how a few changes can completely flip your thinking. Two years ago, I bought an investment property and decided to live with roommates to cut down on rent. Back then, I was tied to California because of work—I had to be in the office three days a week, so moving out of state wasn’t even on the table.

Fast forward two years, and things look a lot different. Now, I’m semi-remote with no real need to be in the office. I’ve been toying with the idea of moving into the property myself if finding a tenant takes longer than expected. But here’s the kicker: the property management company is saying the market won’t support the $1,725 + $15 admin fee the previous tenants were paying. Instead, they predict $1,600 is the max we can get.

On top of that, an escrow analysis this year bumped up my payments by about $1,000 annually, and my property insurance also shot up by the same amount. With all these changes, I’m left wondering if it’s even worth trying to find a tenant right now. Maybe it makes more sense to just live there until winter passes and then look for someone willing to pay what I want.

But here’s the catch—I don’t really want to live in that area, especially not during winter. This whole situation has taught me a valuable lesson: real estate really is all about location. If I’d bought in a place I actually wanted to live, like San Diego or Austin, I wouldn’t be hesitating to move in.

So, I’m stuck with a tough choice. On one hand, it makes sense to get a tenant, even at a slight loss, because that means I can live wherever I want instead of being tied down for a few months. But who knows what the market will look like in a few months? We could be in a deeper recession, or the market could bounce back.

The more I think about it, the more I realize that wanting to live there is probably more about ego than anything else. Even if I take a small financial hit, it’s better than being stuck in a place I don’t want to be, wasting time instead of building the life I want. Sometimes, taking a loss now is the price of staying on the path to something better.

Rewriting by ChatGPT in the styles of Shaan Puri and Sam Parr. This version is good it summarized many parts and wrote it in the style of a good article paragraph by paragraph.