Q&A: I’m Tired of Managing My Rental Property. Should I Sell It?

#752: A caller's rental is performing fine, but a late-paying tenant and a roof replacement have her ready to sell it before she moves to Madrid for her MBA. Paula argues the real fix isn't selling — it's a hire she hasn't made yet. This week, Joe joins Paula to help a caller decide whether to sell a rental property from abroad, then dig into new data on why women's labor force participation dropped in July while their share of new jobs surged in August. In this episode, we discuss: How to tell if you're making the right call for the wrong reason Why a new roof or a set of windows can be a form of forced investing The one hire that can solve the same problem as selling your rental A simple way to estimate a rental property's real return What to weigh before selling a working investment on gut feel alone Why women's labor force participation fell in July even as their job gains led the year Why the trades are becoming a stronger bet than a four-year degree for some new grads This one's for anyone facing a big financial decision that feels more emotional than mathematical — whether that's a rental property, a career move, or a job you're not sure is worth keeping. ⏱️ TIMESTAMPS Note: Timestamps may vary slightly depending on dynamic ad placements. (01:45) Why she wants to sell a rental that's "objectively good" (03:25) When it's actually okay to sell a good investment (10:03) One hire that stops panic-selling a rental property (14:44) The simple math to compare rental returns vs. stocks (17:31) Paula's own confession about hating her first rental property (22:22) Why doing what you're best at beats doing everything yourself (30:11) 100% of last month's labor force drop was women (31:54) The real reasons women are leaving the workforce right now (32:18) Why women got 85% of new jobs created this year (47:00) The industry that could fix jobs and housing at once 🔗 RESOURCES MENTIONED 👉 Torn on selling a rental? Get our free 10-day guide, which includes a deal-analysis exercise to help you decide with the numbers, not just your gut: https://affordanything.com/fiire 👉 Sign up for our newsletter (get the new site first): https://affordanything.com/newsletter 👉 Leave us a voicemail with your own money question: https://affordanything.com/voicemail 👉 Read the BLS jobs report Paula cites in this episode: https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices