Sell it or Rent it? Newbie moving out of state.

[Timothy Boyd]

Hi BP family!  I wanted to get some opinions from you more seasoned investors on what you think I should do.  I am a total real estate investing newbie.  I'm about 100 episodes deep on the podcast, but have not jumped in yet.  Thank you in advance for your time and advice!  Details below.

-Current Residence = 4 bed, 2 bath, 1300 sqft, built 2003.

-Owe ~238K on it, refinanced recently and it appraised for 290K.  Monthly mortgage/tax/insurance payment is $1334.

-I think I could rent it for ~$1500-$1600 based on other similar properties in the area on CL.  Not 100% sure.

My wife and I are looking to move back to the midwest here in the next six months.  So my question is, do I sell it and take the upside to invest in something when we get there, or do I have my first rental as an out of state landlord?

I know the cashflow would be thin and doesn't really leave room to save for CapEx. I imagine I would need to hire a property manager, but I might be able to get a friend to handle it for a price.

Let me know if you need more info in order for you to give me some wisdom!  Thanks again!