Leaving Primary SFH - Cash Flow Advice

[Doug Hogan]

Good afternoon, BP Forum,

I'm in an interested situation and am curious to get some unbiased thoughts/opinions on the matter. I'm in the process of moving out of my primary SFH and moving in with the girlfriend. I'm planning on hanging on to my primary and renting it out (medium or long term due to local rental laws). The caveat is my mortgage is $3,100/mo and the comps in my area are renting ~$2,800/mo, so it's not going to cashflow, especially when accounting for management, vacancy, maintenance, etc.

My thought is my gf and I are both paying separate mortgages at the moment (combined nearly $7,000 between both of our mortgages), so even if my SFH rental isn't a net positive cashflow we'll still be bettering our financial position due to the rental income it can/will produce.  Plus we'll still benefit from appreciation, loan paydown, equity, etc. Also, while it won't cashflow right away, rental rates will continue to rise and in 3-4 years it will very likely be a cash-flowing property (it's in a prime location with tons of upside and development going on around it). 

My question is - is it foolish to hang on to this property that's at a negative cashflow, or am I on the right track thinking of the longer term benefits? Are there any risks or benefits that I'm not considering? Appreciate the feedback! 

Thanks!