Advice Appreciated! Should I sell townhome or rent it out?

[Austen Sweeten]

Advice Appreciated! I own and live in a townhome right in a booming part of Utah. I purchased it about 3.5 years ago for a good price with an excellent rate. I owe about $145,000 on it and my mortgage plus (expensive) HOA is $1030 per month. Looking to move to a bigger place with a yard for the kids. No debt outside of this house, and I have excellent credit and a decent job. Though we live on one income and don't have money for an enormous down payment

What would you do in my situation?

Option 1: Sell it while the market is high. Some comps and neighbors have sold for $220,000 give or take. Take this money and throw a sizable down payment on a new place. I know I would be buying high -but luckily I have place to sell. Could also save some cash, build up savings, etc.

Option 2: Rent out my current place . Rents are close to $1300-$1400 in our neighborhood. I may need to spend a few thousand dollars on some appliances going out soon, but other than that it would make a nice rental.

I would LOVE to own a rental and this would be a solid one. But then I would have to find a home to buy, find a renter, scrape together a down payment on my new place, etc. Then if the market goes down, I might not be in a great spot. And my new place would be pretty pricey. If I had more cash I would just keep my townhome.

Option 3: I could sell it and take the profit. I could then find a place to rent for 1-3 years until the market calms down. Then I could jump into a purchase.

Closing Thoughts:

I know no one has a crystal ball - but I could genuinely use some insight here. If i chose to rent, what strategies would you use to do that? Meaning, find a renter first, contingency contacts, etc. If I sell - will I regret not holding on to this place??

Thank you!!