Newbie here and I would love some feedback on what you would do in this scenario. Would you Stay-Sell-Rent? We are realizing that this home doesn't fit our lifestyle anymore and we want to pay down debt and start saving to buy our first rental property. We are considering either selling the home or renting and moving into an apartment with much less overhead. However, we are worried about losing our "investment" and such a low interest rate.

We purchased a Trendmaker home west of Houston in Katy, in 2020 with 10% down at 3.3% interest for $319,000. The house is 2660 sq ft, 4 bd 3 ba, 2 car garage & pool built in 2006. Zoned to "sought after" Katy ISD and Seven Lakes High school (one of the top in the state & country, so I am told) in Cinco Ranch. It would sell or rent very quickly.

To make a long, expensive story short, we discovered that builder failed to insulate an entire 3rd attic space and didn't seal wall cavities up in the main attic or insulate chases properly (Inspector failed too). This, coupled with the fact that the HVAC company didn't run a Heat Load when we purchased 2 new units in 2021, has led to extensive, repeated water damage and remediation on 3 separate occasions in different areas of the home.

To finance the remediation we took out a HELOC to the tune of $70k with a bit of money from insurance (another saga) ... paying $600 month interest only on HELOC.
The house was just appraised at $514,500.
Realtor said he'd list in $540,000 range.
After paying off HELOC and closing costs etc we would be left with roughly or so $110,000-$140,000 if we sold it.
Rental estimate $3200.  Mortgage $2600 -cashflow calculator $350+ (didnt take HELOC payment into consideration)

Question #1... Should we bother trying to wrestle with Trendmaker or HVAC company, who has since rebranded, for compensation (all of this did lead to significant health issues which is another story entirely as well)
Question #2... Should we sell it?
Question #4... Should we rent it?
Question #5... Should we just stay in it for now?

Houston, Texas

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