USDA loan restrictions and how to proceed with investing

[Jake Warren]

Hi everyone, 

Five years ago I used a USDA section 502 loan to build a house. I lived in the house for four years until my partner and I both needed to move; herself to attend grad school, myself to take a new job. I never had any intention of becoming a real estate investor but not wanting to sell my house with the idea that we might move back someday, I decided to rent it out in the interim. I confess that I didn't look into the fine print of the loan stipulations and when determining a rate to charge for the rental, based my rates on those for similar properties. In my current situation, We've realizing that we most likely won't be moving back any time soon and I'm toying with the idea of using the property as an on-going rental investment. With this in mind I did some research and to the best of my understanding, learned that USDA section 502 loans stipulate that a property can't be rented out as an investment though it is acceptable to rent a property out for up to three years if the owner needs to relocate for particular reasons. 

My question is this: am I really expected to rent the property out below market value at my current mortgage rate? If this is the case what would be some recommendations of how to leverage the property as a potential investment? Should I refinance the home under a different lender, one that allows greater freedom with the property. Ideally I would like to continue to rent out the property as it has a pretty good CAP rate.

Thanks in advance for your insights and expertise.