Refinance Primary Residence As Future Rental

[Patrick Blankenship]

I am active military and currently have a VA loan. My house is worth about what I owe on it. I will be moving in about 2 1/2 years and want to keep it as a rental due to proximity to a well known college campus and a decent rental market which averages about 2.5% vacancy. My question is how best to position myself to refinance into a traditional loan, avoiding PMI so that my monthly payment allows me to crate cash flow. My plan is to pay down the principal as much as possible over the next two years then refinance. I owe $272000 on the house at 3.75% currently. If I stick with the regular payment schedule I will owe about $260k when I leave in 2 1/2 years making my ability to create a positive cash flow from renting a small possibility. Looking for tips... Advice etc. Searching the forum topics as well.