Sell or Rent Current home
I am looking to buy my first property but am trying to figure out what the best action would be, if any, in my current position.
I live in a 3/2 5 year old home in a subdivision. The original owner had a lot of custom options installed that we see a lot of other homes in the neighborhood dont have. We have also done a lot of upgrades that I believe will make the home very appeasing for renters or buyers.
The issue I have is that my wife and I bought the home under an RD loan. We put no money down and 100% financed the 175k. We now owe ~165k. My total payment including escrow and everything is 1015/month. My wife and I collectively make 160-200k a year depending on how much I work. We have 80k in cash and investments currently with a portion of that being our emergency fund.
My question is I dont know what to do with our current home. The mortgage payment is no problem at all to pay every month. However, I feel like I will never make money on it at all even if I rent it.
Should I just sell it, rent it, refinance it and put $ down to get a lower note to make $ on rent, or just continue to live in it?
If I rent it then I would ask 1200/mo. That would not give me much cash flow. If I sell it with all the associated costs I will most likely break even. We like the house so we dont mind living in it. If I was to refinance it I would get a lower note and make cash flow on the house but I would be paying myself back the money that I put down. I want to keep as much cash as I can so that I can have capital to make deals.
Open to all suggestions!