Rent it out for the next 6-12 months or sell it outright?

[nidena]

I owe just over $120k on a house worth ~$140k.  It's mortgaged in a 15-yr at 3.5% and I'm 15 months into the 15 years.  My payment is $1081/mo (escrow and such included).

My other debts are:
CC          $8700  11.15%
Vehicle    $27,400  4.34%
SL A       $2750   5.05%  (payments start in Dec '19)
SL B       $3500   5.05%  (payments start in Dec '19)


My income will continue into perpetuity (Congress willing) and follow me wherever I go: $3400/mo
I also have a couple part-time jobs: ~$500-$1000/mo  (one, I can transfer when I move but that will dip that income below $500)

I will be moving out of state in a few months and anticipate that costing ~$1000 for the truck, meals, and an overnight.  I have that money allocated.

One option that I'm exploring is to rent out the house for less than a year, in short increments.  I live in a military town and there is a niche for temporary housing when families move to/from the area or out of base housing.  A number of families pursue buying homes here but often times the house isn't ready when their lease for base housing is up.

Average rent for a 3bd, 2ba, 1500 sq ft is ~$1250 but that is based on longer contracts.  I'm meeting with a property manager on Wednesday and we'll be discussing short-term rates.  If I went this route, I would refi my house back into a 30 yr in order to lower the payment and put a larger margin between the payment and monthly rent.  Realtor.com shows an estimated value of $147k.  It appraised at $141 when I did the refi, a year ago Spring.

I know you guys will ask the hard questions.  Please do so, knowing that I'm not an investment guru nor am I good in the Finance dept. 

**edited to add: any discrepancies or changes in info between this and any previous posts are due to life happening and goals or focus-points being adjusted.
***edited again to add: I would do a cash-out refi to put a few thousand $$ in an account for repairs to sell in the future OR I'd just wait until I plan to sell and get a HELOC.

[Tiny]

How long do you plan to keep the house?    I think that's the important part of your equation. 

I would calculate some numbers: 

Cost to carry the house with no renter: 
Mortgage (PITI) 
Utilities    (you probably don't want to shut off the water/electric/natural gas or trash pick up) 
any HOA fees or other monthly expenses for monthly services you currently pay (pest control for example) 
Lawn service

If you rent it out... I assume the tenet will pay the utilities part of the above number (and possibly maintain the lawn - if you leave them a mower and a gas can. ) 

Cost of the house if rent it out:  
Mortgage (PITI) 
any HOA fees or monthly expenses that are currently required for the house (pest control for example) 
10% of rent to the Property Manager 

These are lump sums you MIGHT want to have on hand (or be prepared to pay out over the course of a year of renting
Have some $$ for paying the utilities between renters  (I use 4 months for my rental "reserve" estimates ) 
Have some $$ for things that break/go wrong  (I keep 3K on "reserve" for each rental) 
 
I would compare the Cost to Rent the house  to both your Current Cost to Carry AND  the Cost To Carry after you refinance.   (don't forget to add the cost of the re-fi into your expense for renting.)  

I would imagine that if you plan to sell the house in a year or two - it might not make much sense to re fi  --  that it might be a bit of a wash on the over all expenses.   The expense of the re-finance will not be covered by the rent you will get  versus  how much you have to pay out of pocket to cover all the expenses if you don't re-fi - if rent will not cover all the expenses. 

If you plan to keep the house as a rental for a handful of years (or longer) the re-fi might make alot of sense.   If you expect to sell the house in a year or two - it might be less hassle and expense to not bother with the re-fi.   (I'm assuming the refi would cost you a a couple two three thousand).  

 

[nidena]

Jul 22, 2019 10:37:57 GMT -5 Tiny said:

How long do you plan to keep the house?    I think that's the important part of your equation. 

I would calculate some numbers: 

Cost to carry the house with no renter: 
Mortgage (PITI) 
Utilities    (you probably don't want to shut off the water/electric/natural gas or trash pick up) 
any HOA fees or other monthly expenses for monthly services you currently pay (pest control for example) 
Lawn service

If you rent it out... I assume the tenet will pay the utilities part of the above number (and possibly maintain the lawn - if you leave them a mower and a gas can. ) 

Cost of the house if rent it out:  
Mortgage (PITI) 
any HOA fees or monthly expenses that are currently required for the house (pest control for example) 
10% of rent to the Property Manager 

These are lump sums you MIGHT want to have on hand (or be prepared to pay out over the course of a year of renting
Have some $$ for paying the utilities between renters  (I use 4 months for my rental "reserve" estimates ) 
Have some $$ for things that break/go wrong  (I keep 3K on "reserve" for each rental) 
 
I would compare the Cost to Rent the house  to both your Current Cost to Carry AND  the Cost To Carry after you refinance.   (don't forget to add the cost of the re-fi into your expense for renting.)  

I would imagine that if you plan to sell the house in a year or two - it might not make much sense to re fi  --  that it might be a bit of a wash on the over all expenses.   The expense of the re-finance will not be covered by the rent you will get  versus  how much you have to pay out of pocket to cover all the expenses if you don't re-fi - if rent will not cover all the expenses. 

If you plan to keep the house as a rental for a handful of years (or longer) the re-fi might make alot of sense.   If you expect to sell the house in a year or two - it might be less hassle and expense to not bother with the re-fi.   (I'm assuming the refi would cost you a a couple two three thousand).  

 

No renter = current cost + whatever the prop mgr charges.  There are no HOA fees.  Lawn care would be minimal because of going into the winter months at the start.  No, I couldn't/wouldn't cut off utilities.  Trash is wrapped into Water, otherwise THAT I would stop.

With renter = I'd continue to pay for the lawn stuff but add it into the rent.  It's ~$50/mo.  I'd have to figure out what to charge for "utilities included" because my target market would be here only a month or two i.e. month-to-month renters from the get-go.

I believe a refi will net me a <$800/mo payment.
What is PITI?

[giramomma]

I would want to find out how much rent you can charge in the short term.

How much do you have in savings?

What's your headache tolerance?

Will an $300-500/month be a huge game changer for you?

(We can actually pay off our mortgage. We'd get an extra $400/month. That's like an extra kid activity and one more dinner out. For us, this wouldn't radically change our life in anyway. So...we keep our money in the market and carry a mortgage.)

[Tiny]

PITI =  your mortgage payment (Principle + Interest) + your Property Taxes + Insurance.      All four of those numbers MAY make up your Mortgage Payment if your lender is paying the Taxes and Insurance for you.   

I've got one mortgage where the lender pays taxes and insurance  - it's all in my "mortgage" payment.   I've got another Mortage where my "mortgage" payment is just the loan principle and interest.  I have to make sure that I put money on the side each month so I have enough to cover the property taxes and insurance.     

I didn't want to assume your "mortgage" payment of $1081 included Taxes and Insurance.... BUT it looks like it does  based on how much you owe on the mortgage and the interest rate... 

[nidena]

Jul 22, 2019 11:37:18 GMT -5 Tiny said:

PITI =  your mortgage payment (Principle + Interest) + your Property Taxes + Insurance.      All four of those numbers MAY make up your Mortgage Payment if your lender is paying the Taxes and Insurance for you.   

I've got one mortgage where the lender pays taxes and insurance  - it's all in my "mortgage" payment.   I've got another Mortage where my "mortgage" payment is just the loan principle and interest.  I have to make sure that I put money on the side each month so I have enough to cover the property taxes and insurance.     

I didn't want to assume your "mortgage" payment of $1081 included Taxes and Insurance.... BUT it looks like it does  based on how much you owe on the mortgage and the interest rate... 

I had the PI in my brain.  lol.  Yes, those are all covered by my payment.

[nidena]

Jul 22, 2019 11:36:16 GMT -5 giramomma said:

I would want to find out how much rent you can charge in the short term.

How much do you have in savings?

What's your headache tolerance?

Will an $300-500/month be a huge game changer for you?

(We can actually pay off our mortgage. We'd get an extra $400/month. That's like an extra kid activity and one more dinner out. For us, this wouldn't radically change our life in anyway. So...we keep our money in the market and carry a mortgage.)

In easy-access funds, about $1500 in savings.  I'm not counting Roths.

$300-500 what?  Expense?  Once or twice, no, it wouldn't be a game changer.  On-going, probably.  My current expenses for mortgage and utilities (water/trash, natural gas, and electric) are ~$1300.

I have an idea of what you mean by headache tolerance but please explain so I'm not misunderstanding.

[Tiny]

Why would you want to hold onto the house for upto a year after you move out  if you are planning to sell it?   Will you have the house up for sale while you are "renting" it?   Or are you doing this as a 'test drive' for holding it long term as a rental property?        

I guess what I'm saying you need to consider is: 
A year of tenants will add wear and tear to the house (while the tenant's rent may or may not cover the cost of owning the house).   You may have to add more money into the house before you sell it (painting, cleaning,making sure everything is in working order.)      The cost of renting combined with the cost of "preparing for sale"  might be more out of pocket for you than just carrying the cost of the house for 3 or 4 months while it's up for sale.... and not bother with a renter. 

Also keep in mind trying out being a landlord could be worth the costs involved.    It's a learning experience.  And those rarely come for free.   
 

[Tiny]

I'll chime in with examples of "headache tolerance" - I have a rental property that a property manager manages.   I had tenants that called for "maintenance" a zillion times - the bracket that held the shelf up in the closet came loose and the shelf was wobbly,  the other bedrooms closet door came off the tracks,   the light on the stove stopped working, the microwave died and needed to be replaced.  they shattered the sliding glass patio door (they said a bird flew into it... um, ok, whatever), the toilet paper holder came off the wall in one bathroom, the towel bar came off the wall in the other bathroom.    The kitchen light switch broke.   I was thankful when they called about a new water stain in the closet ceiling.... the roof needed replacing.  If they had just 'looked the other way" and not said something - the water damage could have been alot worse.       

Any time the tenant contacts the property manager - it usually costs me something because a repair must be made.   There's not always a cost. but those are few and far between. 

But,  It was a never ending litany of stuff...   Every month the Property Manager was contacting me about some new issue the tenants reported.   I got to the point where I started to make up stories in my head to explain the constant broken stuff:  the tenants were routinely have wild hot sex in every room of the condo - which was resulting in broken stuff.  Or they were  drank/got high every night and then fell down or stumbled around alot.   TBH:  It was probably because i2 adults, 2 tweens, and 2 small dogs where living in the unit.         I was glad when they moved out - but also not upset with them.   They paid on time every month and the condo  was in reasonably clean, working,  OK shape when they left (considering the 2 adults/2 tweens/2 small dogs had lived there for two years).  they also were native Floridians and sucessfully rode out  Hurricane Irma in my condo.  In the aftermath, they had access to a generator and  kept fans running and the fridge going for the 5 days there was no electricity. And they cooperated with/worked with the HOA to clean up the storm debris.   The Property Manager checked on them and let me know the condition of the unit and that the tenants were doing OK AND were taking good care of the property.   So I won't say anything bad about them.  It was just one of the things that happens when you rent.  


FWIW:   I haven't heard a peep about my current tenants - their lease started in October of 2018.  They pay their rent in full and on time every month.   I've been renting out the condo for 9 years.   The current tenants are my 5th ones.    I've had other tenants who never contacted the Property Manager for a problem.       

[nidena]

Tiny, those are hilarious scenarios!  In my initial conversation with the potential property manager, we discussed a few things like that but I will definitely dig in further.  Especially regarding additional cost.

[justme]

Sort of off topic - but I'd look harder at your moving expenses. 5 years ago when work wanted to move me they were only giving me $1500. And that wouldn't cover all the costs of a moving truck with a trailer for my car and one over night in a hotel. It covered most but not all.

[Deleted]

I don't know who your homeowner's insurance is with, but most companies charge a higher rate for an investment property as opposed to owner-occupied.  You might be able to slide by unnoticed, but if you had a loss and had not divulged that you were no longer residing in the house, your claim would possibly be denied and your policy cancelled.  And Ditto for any homestead exemption you have if the taxing entities find out, which could raise your annual tax bill a lot.

[nidena]

Jul 22, 2019 12:49:56 GMT -5 justme said:

Sort of off topic - but I'd look harder at your moving expenses. 5 years ago when work wanted to move me they were only giving me $1500. And that wouldn't cover all the costs of a moving truck with a trailer for my car and one over night in a hotel. It covered most but not all.

The truck will be ~$600.  Hotel ~$120.  Meals ~$100. Gas for my car ~$60.  For the truck ~$100.  Misc ~$200.  I'll bump my estimate to $1500.  I'll be getting the smallest truck--the one bedroom size--but, yeah, it's better to overestimate.  Thank you for the suggestion.

[phil5185]

Jul 22, 2019 12:24:12 GMT -5 nidena said:

Tiny , those are hilarious scenarios!  In my initial conversation with the potential property manager, we discussed a few things like that but I will definitely dig in further.  Especially regarding additional cost.

One time I got a call from a renter, 'the bathtub broke, they don't know what happened'. 

As I walked thru the garage toward the backdoor, I saw a freshly washed motorcycle engine sitting on newspapers. lol

Can't you just see their 17 year old son lifting his clean engine out of the shower and having it slip out of his hands and onto the bathtub floor - oops.  Cost about $1500 as I recall.

At one house, the tenants called me about a stuck garbage disposal.  Usually it was spaghetti and a beer can tab - or a kids toy - or a spoon. I finally went to Sears and bought a 3/4 horsepower disposal and installed it. That thing would chew up spoons, sticks, baby toys - it was great.

And window screens - one family apparently opened the windows and the kids jumped thru the screens to get to the yard to play with neighbor kids. Each year at new-lease time they wanted a few screens replaced - ie, an annual expense for me.

[bookkeeper]

Jul 22, 2019 12:54:54 GMT -5 @donethat said:

I don't know who your homeowner's insurance is with, but most companies charge a higher rate for an investment property as opposed to owner-occupied.  You might be able to slide by unnoticed, but if you had a loss and had not divulged that you were no longer residing in the house, your claim would possibly be denied and your policy cancelled.  And Ditto for any homestead exemption you have if the taxing entities find out, which could raise your annual tax bill a lot.

Your mortgage rate for rental real estate may also be different than owner occupied mortgage rates.  Be sure to ask questions of your mortgage professional as you consider the refinance.

Generally it costs more if you are not the one living there.

[justme]

Jul 22, 2019 13:18:10 GMT -5 nidena said:

Jul 22, 2019 12:49:56 GMT -5 justme said:

Sort of off topic - but I'd look harder at your moving expenses. 5 years ago when work wanted to move me they were only giving me $1500. And that wouldn't cover all the costs of a moving truck with a trailer for my car and one over night in a hotel. It covered most but not all.

The truck will be ~$600.  Hotel ~$120.  Meals ~$100. Gas for my car ~$60.  For the truck ~$100.  Misc ~$200.  I'll bump my estimate to $1500.  I'll be getting the smallest truck--the one bedroom size--but, yeah, it's better to overestimate.  Thank you for the suggestion.

I definitely had a bigger truck than a one bedroom even though I only had a one bedroom apt! I think they must figure you only have a couch for living room furniture.

[nidena]

Jul 22, 2019 15:21:26 GMT -5 justme said:

Jul 22, 2019 13:18:10 GMT -5 nidena said:

The truck will be ~$600.  Hotel ~$120.  Meals ~$100. Gas for my car ~$60.  For the truck ~$100.  Misc ~$200.  I'll bump my estimate to $1500.  I'll be getting the smallest truck--the one bedroom size--but, yeah, it's better to overestimate.  Thank you for the suggestion.

I definitely had a bigger truck than a one bedroom even though I only had a one bedroom apt! I think they must figure you only have a couch for living room furniture.

My furniture is just a mattress set, a large dresser, a small dresser, and a hope chest.  Literally, one bedroom.  And then boxes of stuff.  Mostly books.     That's approximately 20-25 boxes that are a bit larger than basketballs.  Books are so heavy so I wanted to be sure to not pack them into too big of boxes.

[nidena]

It appears that I can refi the 15 year, 3.5% $121,400 into a 30 year, 3.625% $124,200 with a payment decrease from $1081 to $728 (PITI all-enclusive) with closing costs rolled into the loan.  I'm holding off on deciding until I meet with the property manager on Wednesday.  I wouldn't have a mortgage payment until October which means I could redirect the August and September mortgage payments into my moving fund.

[resolution]

If you are living in a house for 2 out of the last 5 years, when you sell it you don't have to pay capital gains tax on appreciation. Once you put it into service as a rental, you will need to claim depreciation on your taxes and then when you sell, you will need to pay a depreciation recapture tax and may also be on the hook for some capital gains.

Even if you don't claim the depreciation, you will still need to pay the depreciation recapture tax on the amount that you should have depreciated at the time of sale, so its important to make the most of it and claim the depreciation.

[nidena]

Jul 22, 2019 16:06:42 GMT -5 resolution said:

If you are living in a house for 2 out of the last 5 years, when you sell it you don't have to pay capital gains tax on appreciation. Once you put it into service as a rental, you will need to claim depreciation on your taxes and then when you sell, you will need to pay a depreciation recapture tax and may also be on the hook for some capital gains.

Even if you don't claim the depreciation, you will still need to pay the depreciation recapture tax on the amount that you should have depreciated at the time of sale, so its important to make the most of it and claim the depreciation.

I understand appreciation and depreciation.  I think I understand depreciation recapture.
If I live in it until, say, September 2019 and then sell it summer 2020, I wouldn't need to pay c.g. tax on the appreciation but I would need to claim depreciation and then pay the recapture tax?  Am I understanding that correct?

[bobosensei]

I did property management when I lived at Fort Bragg.  I would absolutely not get into the short term rental business near a military installation.  I have seen homes torn up like you wouldn't believe.

In my experience someone young was less likely to know basic things like they needed to clean the caulk around the tub not just the tub, and they'd call every month to get it recaulked because "the house has black mold."  I also had to recarpet more than a few homes because a toddler was being potty trained and had peed all over the place, this happened more than when I had to recarpet due to pets.  Pets are much harder on the grass though, and the dogs and young kids have a tendency to tear up all the blinds.

The younger group believed if they didn't mean to cause the damage they shouldn't have to pay, and the older group felt entitled to a pass and also wanted to complain about any landscaping service provided.  The worst part of renting is turning the house, and if you are constantly turning it you have days without rent and just because you can go to a chain of command for rent/damages doesn't make it a fast resolution.  I had standing calls with 1SGTs and still had to turn accounts over to collections.

You'd be better off renting with a year lease, and raise the rent based on BAH to keep out younger families if you can.  I worked with real estate people that said credit check was best indicator that  the house would not be torn up.  If you are renting to families waiting to get on post just know it may be because their credit is too bad to rent elsewhere.  So my experience does seem to be clouded by this.

[nidena]

Jul 22, 2019 16:47:01 GMT -5 bobosensei said:

I did property management when I lived at Fort Bragg.  I would absolutely not get into the short term rental business near a military installation.  I have seen homes torn up like you wouldn't believe.

In my experience someone young was less likely to know basic things like they needed to clean the caulk around the tub not just the tub, and they'd call every month to get it recaulked because "the house has black mold."  I also had to recarpet more than a few homes because a toddler was being potty trained and had peed all over the place, this happened more than when I had to recarpet due to pets.  Pets are much harder on the grass though, and the dogs and young kids have a tendency to tear up all the blinds.

The younger group believed if they didn't mean to cause the damage they shouldn't have to pay, and the older group felt entitled to a pass and also wanted to complain about any landscaping service provided.  The worst part of renting is turning the house, and if you are constantly turning it you have days without rent and just because you can go to a chain of command for rent/damages doesn't make it a fast resolution.  I had standing calls with 1SGTs and still had to turn accounts over to collections.

You'd be better off renting with a year lease, and raise the rent based on BAH to keep out younger families if you can.  I worked with real estate people that said credit check was best indicator that  the house would not be torn up.  If you are renting to families waiting to get on post just know it may be because their credit is too bad to rent elsewhere.  So my experience does seem to be clouded by this.

I definitely appreciate the input, especially from someone who is in a huge military community such as that.

[resolution]

Jul 22, 2019 16:13:19 GMT -5 nidena said:

Jul 22, 2019 16:06:42 GMT -5 resolution said:

If you are living in a house for 2 out of the last 5 years, when you sell it you don't have to pay capital gains tax on appreciation. Once you put it into service as a rental, you will need to claim depreciation on your taxes and then when you sell, you will need to pay a depreciation recapture tax and may also be on the hook for some capital gains.

Even if you don't claim the depreciation, you will still need to pay the depreciation recapture tax on the amount that you should have depreciated at the time of sale, so its important to make the most of it and claim the depreciation.

I understand appreciation and depreciation.  I think I understand depreciation recapture.
If I live in it until, say, September 2019 and then sell it summer 2020, I wouldn't need to pay c.g. tax on the appreciation but I would need to claim depreciation and then pay the recapture tax?  Am I understanding that correct?

I am not a qualified tax person, so hopefully a real tax person will answer. From what I understand if you meet the 2 out of 5 year criteria you would still be on the hook for some capital gains tax.  You would calculate what percent of the time was qualifying use (you were living there) and what percent was non qualifying use (renting it out), and then you would only pay capital gains tax on the percent of the gain that matched your non qualifying use. So if you lived there 9 years and rented it out 1 year, then 10% of the time was non qualifying so you would pay capital gains tax on 10% of the gain.

Anyway, I just use a tax person to do all that, but I thought it might be an area for you to research/consider when making your choice if you intend to sell the house within a couple of years. To me it seems like a lot of trouble to set up a rental and do all the paperwork/prep and figure out taxes unless you plan to keep it a rental long term.

[nidena]

The other option that I could consider is to not rent it out nor sell it but just keep it as an additional home.  It's a coastal state.  It's not the dumbest idea.  I'd just need to figure out who to talk to to get it winterized/prepped for intermittent occupancy.

Any suggestions for the state of Delaware?  

[phil5185]

"""One option that I'm exploring is to rent out the house for less than a year, in short increments. I live in a military town and there is a niche for temporary housing when families move to/from the area or out of base housing. A number of families pursue buying homes here but often times the house isn't ready when their lease for base housing is up."""

Short term housing is rough on a house - families moving in/out results in nicks, gouges, and broken doors. And families that need to move into the house in a week, then back out in 2 weeks, have lots on their minds (besides being careful of your house).  You can charge extra to cover the damages, to make up for the vacancy time - and pay a local property manager to broker the tenants - but it is a tough way to get a return on money.

But a military town is good, my best renters were military families - they took care of the property,  always paid on time etc, mine were all longterm tenants. I told my tenants that I would give them the lease if they needed/wanted to leave, ie the lease was only for their benefit. Just give me 2 weeks notice  (I was able to re-rent in just a few days, there was always a waiting list on the Base.)

***edited again to add: I would do a cash-out refi to put a few thousand $$ in an account for repairs to sell in the future OR I'd just wait until I plan to sell and get a HELOC.

I did "for sale as is ' on my houses. You'll find that "make ready to sell" money is a bad investment. Eg, you might spend $15,000 for fix-up and only get $10,000 extra for the house., a loss of  $5000.

"""It's not the dumbest idea."""  Maybe. But I can think of  better ways to invest $25,000.  Eg, put it in the Market and double it every 7 years - $25k, $50, $100k, $200k - in the first 21 years.

[debthaven]

Since you plan to leave the area definitively (as far as I know) I would just sell it, and move on.

Renting COULD go well, or not. The problem is, you can't know which one it is until you're in the middle of it, or done with it.

Since you don't plan to keep the house medium or long term, personally, I'd just sell and move on.

[giramomma]

I don't know what you can get in terms of short term rentals. Around here, short term rental generally go for less than full year rentals.

So I like easy numbers. I'm assuming that you'll net $500/month if you rent the place out.

Is that $500/month worth the following risks:

-Risk that your home/property will get damaged

-Risk that the housing market will take a down turn...and now you need to hold onto your house longer or sell at a lower price..

-Risk that comes with finding tenants. What if you only have tenants 6 months out of the year? How many months can you afford to pay for the mortgage without the help of renters?

I have a low risk tolerance.  At this point in my life, I also want simple, so I would not keep the house for the sake of keeping it. I cannot also afford to have my money make me 3% a year. My money has to work harder. I need the bigger gains from the market.

You'd probably make enough money off the sale of your house to pay off your CC. That's the route I would take. 

[Peace77]

Just sell it and be done with it.

Trying to be a long distance landlord is a real pain. Been there, done that.

I worked for a property manager who didn't do his job so I don't trust them. Too many headaches and not worth it.

Take the profit and pay off your credit card.

[raeoflyte]

I feel like I must have missed it, but what is your end goal with the property?  Are you hoping it will appreciate significantly in the next 6-12 months?  Are you wanting to be able to come back if the new state isn't what you hope for?  If it's the first one, I'd say it's pretty high risk.  In my area I can definitely see people make money at that, but you never know when it's going to turn.  

I thought briefly about making one of our houses into a short term rental.  There were lots of reasons not to do it, and for me I couldn't see it working without it being furnished which would cost quite a bit upfront and then managing the turn over would eat up any additional profit compared to standard leases so I abandoned that idea.  

[nidena]

Because I'm in a situation where I don't have to do anything--don't *have to* sell, don't *have to* move, don't *have to* stay in place either--I'm just looking at all the different options in this choose-your-own-adventure that is life:

If you sell the house, turn to page 56.
If you rent the house out, turn to page 63.
If you stay, turn to page 49.

Do they even write those kinds of books any more.

Anyhoo...after reading all the comments--thank you, seriously!--and having a few conversations with a friend who is a mortgage guy, I won't be renting the house out.  I won't be keeping it either.  It would be nice to have some place already in place should I come back here but, after serious pondering, I realized that I really wouldn't be coming back to this particular town.  I may visit the east coast once I move but it'll be friends in Philadelphia or friends in New Jersey.

So, I'll keep plugging away at my current mortgage, take care of any things that NEED to be done, and then put it on the market.  I won't refi either.  With the way the numbers panned out, I'd achieve the same end point in the principal whether I keep on this course or refi to a lower payment but make the same payment.

Thanks all!