Buy/ Rent Before I Move Cities

[Cooper Meurer]

Lately, I have been mulling the idea of selling my primary residence and renting for 1-2 years before we leave the Midland area and move to the Texas Hill Country (surrounding Austin area)

Reasoning for this:

- I currently have around 120k in equity in my residence and I have a 4.75% interest rate. 
-My fiancée and I are planning on having our first kid by the beginning of 2026, so extra room would be ideal as we are somewhat limited in the primary residence. 
-While rent would be more expensive month by month, the idea of being able to take my equity out of my home and also being able to reduce annual repair costs, property taxes, etc. does seem appealing to me. 
-With my current role in my career and trajectory, I will be able to make the move out of midland in 1-2 years, so I would love the ability to leave and not worry about my home sitting on the market when we are trying to buy a home in Austin.

Those are some of my thoughts and I would love to understand the reasoning for/ against this. Just to provide and absolute in this situation, we will sell this home when we move out of Midland. It will not become a rental property. 

[Walter Bowser]

I’d recommend continuing to build equity in your home for the next year or two. The market could shift in your favor, potentially turning into a seller’s market. Another option is to rent it out and keep growing your equity while someone else covers the mortgage. It really comes down to your risk tolerance and long-term goals.