patrick.net

Aside from the potential income of renting vs selling I would consider it the ultimate vote with your feet to say FU to Newscum and the Nazi rules of CA by selling your place and forgetting you ever gave them your time treasure or talent. When you leave Sodom you don’t look back.

PeopleUnited says

Aside from the potential income of renting vs selling I would consider it the ultimate vote with your feet to say FU to Newscum and the Nazi rules of CA by selling your place and forgetting you ever gave them your time treasure or talent. When you leave Sodom you don’t look back.

fair point

Are you sure that you want to be a landlord in California?

There is absolutely no way I would want to be an absentee landlord anywhere, but especially tenant friendly places (like Baltimore City, but California is no different).

I will be selling my house in Baltimore City (hopefully later this year).

Someone who comments on Patrick's blog fled California with his family but returned, sharing that they missed living there.

It's the reason I suggest not selling till one is settled in to the new locatoin to be sure the relocations is permanent. Then if all works out, sell. II you want to return, you'll have a Prop-13 place to return to.

Doing this will be an opportunity to try out the landlording. Maybe that will work out for you and so will decide to continue landlording. Or maybe it won't in which case you can sell it.

zzyzzx says

There is absolutely no way I would want to be an absentee landlord anywhere

Most landlords are absentee and have someone managing it anyway. A one off property might be more of a pain, but depending on cost it might be worth it as CA seemingly continues to appreciate.

I'd say try it out for a year. If it works out keep doing it. Double check with an accountant, but remember 2 of the last 5 years as a primary and it's tax free (edit: up to $500k if married) I believe on any gains. Something to think about. So you could rent for four years (I believe) sell that last year with tax free gains. Can't predict the market that far in advance and I don't know your market, but 4 years could be a couple hundred thousand depending on where this inflation goes.

Again, double check with an accountant. I could be wrong on this. If it cash flows you're paying more principle down and making money. Time it right and sell tax free. Like I said, might not be worth it, but if the house is in good shape utility wise (kitchen appliances, any HVAC, water heater) it might be worth it. Hell maybe even end up selling the home to a tenant and you've cut the broker out. Happened with my buddy in town where I'm at.

On the one hand, inflation is going hyper and housing should keep pace with it, making a piece of desirable real estate one of the best investments you could hold right now. If you can buy a second home in your desired state without selling the California property, you could watch BOTH properties appreciate and let’s be honest: the CA one is going to appreciate the most.
This past year alone my house has appreciated from $950k to over $1.2 million. I can’t get that kind of return anywhere else.

Downsides are tax issues, renter issues, typical landlord stuff. But it does work out for millions of landlords here so not every story must be a nightmare. Then again, CA just extended the eviction moratorium through June.