To rent out or sell my old house

[Anthony Reyes]

I have been wanting to get into real estate investing for some time now. I bought a foreclosure back in 08 and have been living In It since then while building a business and family. We have outgrown the house and are moving and I am torn on whether  to keep and rent my house or just sell it. I have the down payment for the new house($52k from my business) that I can put down or sell my house and use the equity as the down payment. The house I currently live in is worth about $195k and I owe $118k. Would you all recommend keeping the house and renting it out for a income of about $250 a month (after property manager fees) and keep saving to buy a house outright for more cash flow or sell it and use the equity as a down payment. 

[Kevin Siedlecki]

@Anthony Reyes - your rationale makes sense for turning it into a rental. You won't get a loan that low again, and you have a cash-flowing asset with a good chance for appreciation moving forward. A lot of us (myself included) get started on less-than-perfect investments. My first one barely breaks even, but like yours, it was my residence first. Transitioning to a rental was an easy way to get into real estate. It might not be something I would buy now, but if I hadn't done it, I might never have gotten into real estate investing. It sounds like that's exactly where you find yourself right now, so with that info to take into account, I say turn it into a rental and understand that it's not going to be your best investment, but it will get you started!