Mortgage on a rental property

[Satish Vittalam]

I have a home that I will be leasing shortly (that I was staying.. Moving out for job reasons). I pay around $2,500 per month on a 15 year and may have another 10 years before it will be paid off.  The amount I pay includes principal + mortgage + Insurance. When I inquired about the rental market, it hovers between 2400-2650. So, even if get an optimistic rate of $2700, I might obviously not have a good cash flow, keeping into account 10-15 % for repairs, vacancy and any unforeseen expenses. I bought this home brand new in 2010.

So, my question is should I stay on 15 year and keep paying the difference. Not sure if its a smart move. The only benefit I see is I might be saving interest on the 15 year loan compared to 30 year. Or should I move it to 30 year and generate some cash flow out of the deal. But, I am resetting my payment schedule for another 30 years. Plus I will pay more interest.  Not really convinced on that as well..:) 

Looking for some advice from the experts. Thank you.

Satish