Should I sell or keep my house?

[Daphne V.]

We are going to move in near future to another state. The house we currently have purchased with low interest rate and already increased in value. We don’t want to rent in new location for a long time after we move. So should we sell and buy a new house or keep and buy? If we decide to keep , What do we need to do to get the second house approved by the bank?

[Scott Trench]

I generally have a heavy bias towards selling a primary residence. The reason for this is that you can exclude much of the capital gains from the sale of a primary residence. This tax benefit goes away if you keep it as a rental for a few years. 

To get a new home, you can likely get a 3.5% or 5% down loan approval. It's possible that you can buy a true rental property in your new state, AND use a low down payment loan to buy your primary residence. 

[Basit Siddiqi]

@Daphne V.

I would consider getting a HELOC on the current personal residence for the appreciation you got thus far.
This allows you to keep your current low mortgage Interest.

Rent out the property and use the funds from the HELOC to purchase your new personal residence.

Best of luck!

[JD Martin]

You didn't mention what your goals are one way or the other, beyond just not renting in the new place. Do you want to own rental real estate? If not, the choice is easy - sell what you have. If you do want to own rental real estate, does your current house make sense as a rental? Many times primary residences *do not* make sense as a rental.

[Jack Faysash]

I say you're best bet is to sell, assuming you've lived in the property a minimum of two years or are relocating for a work related reason. If you don't sell now, I suggest selling within 3 years after the day you move to still benefit from the $250k tax exclusion ($500k if MFJ).