Sell or rent out our townhouse

[Alec Norman]

So I've been kicking around the idea for awhile of keeping our townhouse and renting it out when we eventually buy a SFH in a year or two. I just don't know if it's a wise decision. I feel like part of the reason is sentimental, we've lived here for 5 years and I've become a little attached. But I do think it would be a nice rental property, in a prime location in Northern Virginia(right outside DC). It would cash flow barely (2500-2600 rental income vs 2400 in mortgage/hoa) but should improve over time. We might have to eat some maintenance costs early on. I'm a CPA so I understand the tax implications, particularly capital gains. I either want to sell the place and get the full exemption or hold it long term as a rental.

Anyone else deal with a similar situation? Selling the place seems like the easiest thing to do but I feel like if we can hold onto the property we'll thank ourselves 20 years from now, even though it could be harder in the near term. Or maybe it will end up being a huge drain on our resources and we'll regret it.