Renting Out Primary Residence

[Nate Huber]

I believe I'm in the right forum here... I have two questions. (1) Based on my goals and the information below is my home worth renting out, and (2) If not, can anything be done to improve the numbers and situation?

Goals: Cash flow would be great (of course), but I'm primarily interested in this house as a long-term investment and addition to my portfolio.

Background: I'm new to property ownership. I own and live in a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom ranch in a desirable area suburb of Charlotte.It's my primary residence and only property. I purchased it 2.5 years ago at $275,000, interest rate, 3.88%. I've had a lot of property appreciation (about 140%). I would like to rent it out within the next two years or so and move into a larger house for my family. 

I've used a few calculators and arrived at these annual numbers...

Net Rent --- Annual Rent $23,472 (Based on Zillow) - Vacancy (26 days) = $21,800

Property Taxes $1,925
Insurance $1,288
Maintenance (8%) 1,744
Property Management $981
Leasing Fees $978

Total Expenses $6,916
Net Operating Income 14,884

Cap rate 5.41%
COC Return (before taxes) -0.54%
Net Cash Flow -$52

I know that a negative COC is discouraging, but it's borderline and my goal is long-term investing. I easily have the capital to make up for the difference. I'm wondering if I can tip the scales in my direction either through renting my place for a higher price or lower my monthly payment/expenses.

A few questions I had...

Could refinancing be a good idea? If so, how would I go about this? I'm not very knowledgable about refinancing, so please keep that in mind if you answer.

Could standard inflation resolve this over the next couple years? By my calculation, an 8% COC could be achieved with about $2,050 rent (numbers above are based on $1,956).

Thanks in advance!

[Dave Foster]

@Nate Huber, If you've lived in that property for at least 2 years then sell it and don't look back.  All of your profit will be tax free!!!!  If you want to keep investing in real estate then use the tax free dollars to buy two properties - a small house for cash that you can actually generate positive income off of.  And a down payment on another primary for you.  Or just rent a while while you wait for your next primary and for interest rates to cool a.little if you want.

But don't hang on to an underperforming asset just because - remember that favorable interest rate does help with the amortization of the loan.  But to have that kind of interest rate and still be a negative performer is a big red flag when you can take a bunch of profit off the table right now tax free.

The idea is to make the greatest return and cash flow with the least amount of risk.  A marginal property is a risk.  All you're doing is hoping for appreciation.  Not a bad thing.  But one surprise can set you back several thousand dollars and there's no income to balance that.