Sell or Rent? Any opinion appreciated.

[Nicole Jacobson]

Hello, I love this forum and find this community so helpful. So I figured it would be a good place to discuss my dilemma. So here it goes.. I own a property worth about $320k, with a mortgage of about $100k on it. I can rent it out and make about $500 a month or sell it and buy something smaller cash and make about $1000 a month. This seems like an easy answer but I have an emotional attachment to the house, and if I ever moved back to the state I would prefer to live in the house. So my question is.. To a rent and hold the house letting the tenant pay down the note and make $500 a month, or do I cash out and buy something cash in a few months when interest rates go up and prices drop? Any advice would be appreciated, I know this might sound like an easy decision, but it's harder when you have emotional attachment to something.

[Marc Woodward]

I would definitely sell, cash out and reinvest.  I would suggest you not base your decision on the contingency that you might move back one day.  Another way to look at it would be to ask yourself this question...  If you did not already own the house, would you buy it now under your current circumstances?  If not, then the wise financial move is to sell it, especially if it opens up new opportunities...  Especially if you can avoid capital gains tax.