General Landlording & Rental Properties
Market News & Data
General Info
Real Estate Strategies
![](http://bpimg.biggerpockets.com/assets/forums/sponsors/hospitable-deef083b895516ce26951b0ca48cf8f170861d742d4a4cb6cf5d19396b5eaac6.png)
Landlording & Rental Properties
Real Estate Professionals
Financial, Tax, & Legal
![](http://bpimg.biggerpockets.com/assets/forums/sponsors/equity_trust-2bcce80d03411a9e99a3cbcf4201c034562e18a3fc6eecd3fd22ecd5350c3aa5.avif)
![](http://bpimg.biggerpockets.com/assets/forums/sponsors/equity_1031_exchange-96bbcda3f8ad2d724c0ac759709c7e295979badd52e428240d6eaad5c8eff385.avif)
Real Estate Classifieds
Reviews & Feedback
Updated 4 months ago on . Most recent reply
![Jacob Swihart's profile image](https://bpimg.biggerpockets.com/no_overlay/uploads/social_user/user_avatar/3127866/1727749734-avatar-jacobs923.jpg?twic=v1/output=image/cover=128x128&v=2)
Seeking Advice on Leasing Our Home and Moving to a Mobile Home
Hello BiggerPockets community,
My wife and I purchased a house in Katy, TX a few years ago for $230k, right before the market surged. We secured a 3.2% interest rate and currently owe about $200k. The house is now worth approximately $315k.
Initially, we thought we'd stay here long-term, but we ended up with a larger house than we need. We've decided we want to move further out and get a few acres. Additionally, my commute is 25 miles each way.
Here's our plan:
1. **Lease our current house**: We believe leasing our house could be a good idea.
2. **Buy a mobile home**: We plan to buy a mobile home and place it on a leased lot 13 minutes from my office.
3. **Save money**: With reduced expenses (gas, power, tolls, etc.), we estimate that we will be about to increase our savings from about $600 per month to about $2,000 per month.
4. **Future plans**: After a few years, we aim to put a down payment on a piece of land and move the mobile home there.
Our goals are to build equity in our current house while working towards owning a nice piece of land and maybe eventually building a nice house on it.
**Questions:**
- I have no idea if my calculations on what the my costs for leasing the house are anywhere near accurate. My current payment with taxes and insurance is $1613/month(this is with pmi of $85/month. I just submitted a request to remove it). I'm seeing similarly sized homes leasing in my area for $2300/month. How big of an impact is losing the homestead exemption?
- How should I start with this? What do I need to learn? Are there any books I need to read?
- How do I find a tenant and manage a lease?
I'm not sure if this plan sounds crazy but my wife is on board and I think it's probably a good path to getting us where we want to be. I'm also not afraid of a little hard work but I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed and would appreciate any advice or guidance on where to start and what to focus on.
Thank you!
Most Popular Reply
![Michael Smythe's profile image](https://bpimg.biggerpockets.com/no_overlay/uploads/social_user/user_avatar/2781124/1694551690-avatar-michaels3052.jpg?twic=v1/output=image/cover=128x128&v=2)
@Jacob Swihart if you hire an agent to find a tenant - do NOT let them screen them!
It's a conflict of interest!
The agent gets paid when they find a tenant, so they have an incentive to take the first applicant with a pulse.
Otherwise, hire a PMC.
- Michael Smythe
![business profile image](https://bpimg.biggerpockets.com/no_overlay/uploads/marketplace/business/profile_image/641/1712167644-company-avatar.jpg?twic=v1/output=image/contain=65x65)