@Chris Seveney reach out to @Aidan Groll of Blue Gems.

I've bought and sold, been burned in a blue state during the pandemic.

,(ARV).You enter the Blue Numbers only, the rest are calculated.

He has made a lot of grandiose predictions over the years that have not materialized: such as the "hallucinations" issue with AI being solved by now which it hasn't, and predicted that blue collar jobs would be totally gone by now, and that we'd have self-driving cars by 2019 etc. 

I have a linkden but again only check it once in a blue moon . 

The federal guidelines, and they are only guidelines, not rules or laws, are 2 heartbeats per bedroom.But, you are in a BLUE state and tenants can walk all over landlords there so who knows what laws really apply and how much it will cost you to have those laws enforced.

My concern is selling now and later regretting it if our kids end up here and it’s priced out.Options I’m weighing:Sell within the next year and use the §121 exclusion.Pros: harvest tax-free gain; redeploy into 3–5 cash-flow rentals; simplify; diversify.Cons: lose the “legacy house” in a prime area; potential regret if kids want to live here later.Keep and re-rent for cash flow and appreciation.Pros: maintain foothold in an A location; optionality for kids later.Cons: likely forfeit §121; future sale may need a 1031 (adding timing/loan complexity); modest cash flow now.Hybrid ideas I’m open to:Sell now, earmark funds in a conservative bucket to help kids buy later (if/when they move back).Sell part of the equity via HELOC/portfolio loan, keep the house, and still buy rentals (trade-off: leverage/risk).Move back in later to re-start the §121 clock (understanding holding costs/complexity and tax rules).Questions for the group:In a scenario like this, how do you weigh tax-free equity harvesting now vs. long-term optionality in a blue-chip location?

,(ARV).You enter the Blue Numbers only, the rest are calculated.

,(ARV).You enter the Blue Numbers only, the rest are calculated.

The city wants to invest in more urban areas into larger projects and the hope is that the surrounding neighborhoods will grow in desirability and demand.Average household income - Most of Lansing renters are blue collar support workers.