Cash flow vs capital/more properties

[Mark Crosby]

I'm just getting into the real estate investor frame of mind. I'm moving from the house I've lived in for the past 8 years to another state. If I kept the home I'm in, it would be my first investment property. I have a VA loan option from when I was in the military I have not used and have the down payment I'd need for our next residence so I don't necessarily need to sell in order to buy my next house. I owe $412,000 on my home and could get $1.2-1.3M for it right now. I hesitate to get rid of it because I'm locked in at a 1.875% interest rate for a 15 year loan. It'll be paid off in 10 years. I'm considering keeping it to do short term rental and producing some cash flow while paying off the rest of the loan. My hesitation in keeping it is the huge property tax I pay every year about $18k. My goal is long term wealth. My regular job provides good cash flow and allows me to save up about $5-10k/mo after maxing out 401k. My goal is to buy one property/year for the next 10 years. But if I sold my house I could have around $800-900k in capital to put towards 3-4 properties. I'd like to have a diverse real estate portfolio (single family, du/tri/quad plexes and a small 8-10 unit multi family) and then see what I enjoy the most. What amount of cash flow per month would it be worth it to keep it? Or should I sell and jump start my real estate acquisitions?

[Theresa Harris]

If you turn it into a rental and sell it in 5 years (having not lived in it for the last 2-3 years), you will have to pay capital gains on the profit.  You mention what it is worth now, but not what you paid for it.  Even if you bought it for $700k and sold it for $1.2M, how much would you pay in capital gains on the $500K?  Then look at what you'd make renting it out.