To rent or sell?

[Parker Harrison]

I have recently been throwing the idea of renting my house out and purchasing another as a primary residence.  I bought my house as a foreclosure at 118,000 and it was recently appraised for around 165,000. It is a four bedroom, 2 1/2 bath with attached two car garage and is the largest floor plan available in my neighborhood. Some comparable rentals in my neighborhood are renting for around 1200-1400(almost double my current mortgage).   My question is should I sell the house outright and put the profit towards a down payment on another residence so I can be in a better position to purchase other properties in the future or get the house rented and look to get into another mortgage. The thought of getting more into debt with mortgages isn't ideal to me but I think the amount of profit of the rent might outweigh my reservations. I look forward to hearing all of your input. Thanks in advance.