Should I sell or rent my current house!!

[Trevor Riley]

Hi Bigger Pockets Community,

I am new to the real estate game and by new, I mean I haven't done a single thing yet besides reading some books. I'm trying to figure out what I should do with my current house before that time comes. Bought in a semi-bad area of Indianapolis because I got a killer deal (fully rehabbed home for $82k). Deal with the city also meant that I had to live here for 5 years and this month I reach 5 years. Ultimately I want to go out and buy a home in a nicer area to live with my lady and start to get into real estate via rentals. I owe $60k (15-year mortgage that I refinanced last year) on the house and I believe it to be worth right around $200k in today's crazy market.

Scenario 1 - Sell the house and profit roughly $120k. Put some of that into my next home and some of that can be used to find a rental property down the road. (I also have about $40k that I was saving for the downpayment of my next home).

Scenario 2 - Keep my current house and rent it out. Mortgage taxes and insurance are $680. It is the nicest house in the area, everything was updated 5 years ago. I think I can rent it out for roughly $1,400 a month. The area is getting nicer every year and eventually, I believe it will be a great place to live so I imagine that it will still appreciate from here on out pretty well. At the same time, I will be going to buy another house to live in, in a nicer area. 

Really been going back and forth on the idea and I am needing to come to some conclusion soon. I had told myself if I could get over $150k profit that I should take it and run but I don't think we are quite there yet. Love the idea of having rentals and ultimately that's what I would like to try out down the road. Any guidance is appreciated here! Thanks