Property taxes are 650, insurance 160, outsourced property management takes 10% of the rent, and another 10% of the rent is set aside each month for future repairs. 3750 x 0.8 = 3000. $3000 profit, minus about $2300 in mortgage, property taxes and insurance leaves about $700 cashflow, when I move out.

Tax Savings:While it’s true that the stock market has been strong, real estate offers unique tax advantages that aren’t available with other asset classes.

Repairs made while the property is your primary residence are not deductible, but improvements can increase your cost basis, reducing future capital gains tax when you sell.

In some cases interest paid on the HELOC can be tax deductible if the funds are used for home improvements.Best of luck from Fort Worth! 

I want to take advantage of growth if possible, but also want to minimize taxes and fees (penalties).

Tampa can work, but yes, taxes and insurance are higher and might keep cash flow tight.

so I used 1.5% as a property tax number, and I used $200 mo for insurance.

So, in your considerations, I would park right there for a bit and determine how this would look for you.Since you have about 2.5 years to think about it before you would need to spring into action to take advantage of the rollover for tax advantages, maybe you try on a rental and see how it fits. 

I agree with the others here that say you need to have some skin in the game, if you are going to live there yourself, get an FHA loan rather than owner financing, you can get a 3.5% down loan, personally I do not love these as they require  PMI which is an additional expense, and you also need  bring additional funds for closing at least for taxes, title, attorney and transfer fees . borrowing from anyone else for the down payment, to include a personal loan from the bank is not a good idea, those again will be higher int. rate.

Never invest in any city on this list of the 50 most dangerous US cities.Low operating costs: High operating costs are one of the driving factors for many companies, leaving states with high taxes, regulations, and other costs.