Nearly paid off moving out of state for work want to rent my home

[Thomas D.]

So I have received a job in Nevada and My home is in Louisville Kentucky. The house is nice but my renovation was 15 years ago so the kitchen and bathroom will need updates in the near future. The area is very popular and home prices still have plenty of room to grow. The house is just about paid off, I have 5 years left on the mortgage. My mortgage currently is about 550.00 after taxes and I'm sure I can rent the home for about 1350. I want to know the best way to protect my equity in the home while renting it out. Should I LLC or what are my other options. If I need access to equity later do I refinance and pull equity before I LLC the property. I have rented the house out before for 3 years while away for work and I learned my lessons on how to be a good landlord and not a softy! Also, should I use a rental management company or try to just handle myself and use someone I know local to manage for me? I managed the property myself the first time with little issue.