Renting my Primary Residence

[Justin Anspach]

In the last month I have decided to start my journey. Here is my situation and I would appreciate feedback...

I am going to REFI my house since i am being quoted at 2.875% for a 30 year (NO POINTS PURCHASED.) This will reduce my mortgage from $1592 to $1353 (All taxes insurance included.) I will live in the home for 12 months so I adhere to my lenders guidelines. 

I can rent my home for roughly $1850 maybe more.

I would have the Renter pay $200 a month for solar which is a VERY low for my area. My cost is $260 a month for solar...

I would pay a property manager for $80 a month and Home Warranty to help cover Appliance repairs...$35 a month

The way I see it that is a $300+ cash flow.

am I missing something? Or is it that easy? 

[Brendon B.]

@Justin Anspach This is exactly how I started my real estate journey.  I became an accidental landlord after having to move out of state and deciding to rent out my primary residence.  I earned a little bit of cash flow but it wasn't much.  Fortunately, I found really good tenants that always paid on time and took really good care of the house.  Nothing major broke during the whole time so the expenses were low.  I also self managed it.  I decided on selling it and its now under contract. 

Are you planning on self-managing it or are you going to hire a property management company?  Property managers typically charge 8-10% so keep that in mind.  Remember to budget for expenses like vacancies/repairs/capex.  Take into consideration how old your roof and HVAC are as you may have to replace those later down the road.