Poor housing market; i own a small house rented out until next year?

the lease is up i chose not to live in it because it's too small;no closets only investment not wrkg out the way i'd like i've come to see buying a house was better vs a condo which has pro's and cons compared to a house. Presently live marginally living to pay off bills.Can't sell house yet as i won't get back what i put in have to wait till 2009. What advice can you offer.should i live in it keep some things in storage and wait this out? or continue to rent it out and claim the renter next year as the taxes allow home owners to rent out after two years ownership. Calif what are the benefits

you don't actually own the hosue if you're renting it out.

If you wait until 2009 then the house will be worth even less and you will loose even more money. If you can rent it out with a good sized positive cash flow then you can try to wait out the real estate crash but who knows how long it will be. If you have a negative cash flow then think about walking a way from the property and cutting your losses now if you owe more than the property is worth or try to do a short sale. You haven't given enough information for anyone to really help you but you should compare you different alternatives on a spreadsheet and see what nets you the most money/savings. Remember that if you are tied up with a upside down house then when the prices hit bottom then you won't be able to buy anything. That is a big opportunity cost loss. Next time you buy remember not to listen to any real estate agent. They are like used car salesmen. As far as storage, think about selling or donating it instead. Storage is expensive and usually costs more than what you are storing is worth. So dump your bad investment, try to live on the cheap with a room mate if necessary. Then save all the money you can for when the prices start going up again. The real estate market moves very slowly so there will be plenty of time to wait to make sure it is a real recovery not investors playing with the market.