When we moved, we turned it into a rental, hoping this would be the start of our real estate journey—something we’d like to continue once my husband retires.Some key details:My husband is active duty and will retire in 3 years.We have one final move coming up this summer to Raleigh, NC.Our current debts are crippling us—the high interest makes it tough to stay afloat every month.The plan me and my husband are thinking bout:Sell the rental property.Use the proceeds to pay off all our debts, set aside emergency funds and a down payment for our next home.Free up $1,500/month from debt payments, and that also can stash in a high-yield savings account.Regain full VA loan entitlement, allowing us to purchase a multifamily home and use the house hacking strategy for up coming move.Avoid capital gains tax, since April marks five years of ownership, and the tenant’s lease ends in May.This wasn’t our original plan, and we hate the idea of using our equity to pay off debt.

I’m actively seeking to purchase either a multi-family or duplex unit in the Columbus area  for a medium rehab project. 

@Vina Merrill,I don't have much intel on Knoxville, but I’m active as an investor, turnkey provider, and builder in Chattanooga.

In this post-pandemic landscape, metropolitan areas remain the hubs of economic activity.

.: During our pre-scheduled quarterly inspections, most of our tenants just go about their usual activities—cooking, watching TV, working, etc.

Also tweaking your pricing on VRBO and Airbnb so you are active and it pushes you higher in the search results.Tweaking the price that gets pushed to these platforms works as well.

@Victor Yang To use the rental losses to offset any active income (W2), you'd have meet Real Estate Professional status (which would be difficult to do with a W2 job because you'd have to work more on real estate than any other job to qualify) OR have an AGI of $150K or less.

Many opt for other investing methods in their SDIRA like private lending, crypto, private equity...anything except collectibles and life insurance.Note that a Solo 401k is exempt from UBIT on leveraged real estate so if you have self employment activity and no full time employees save for you and your spouse you should consider the Solo K as an option. 

In my opinion it would be cleaner to split partnership based on monetary contribution and then remunerate each active party for their work if the active work is more on one partner than the other.

Would it be a good idea to create an LLC, let's call it "2500 Oak Street LLC" (fictitious new address) then list the new LLC as the owner of the home?