In order to avoid questions from the tenants, I was upfront and told them that the current furnace is expensive to run because it is inadequately sized for the house (I didn't mention details about lack of a heat pump) and we made the decision to change it out for a gas one ASAP, which will go to their benefit, and all we need from them is to add gas service.

If this property is hard to rent, or is functionally obsolescent (only 1 bathroom, no yard, etc), or has deferred maintenance that will be costly, or is in a location that is not appealing to Tenants, then maybe a sale would be a good option in favor of a property that has better Tenant appeal, which will likely increase rent and avoid long vacancies in between Tenants.An option to consider....

The upside is that higher rates have taken some of the competition out of the market, and in the event rates lower, you can refi and make a good deal that much better.Having said that, there are plenty of financing options and you should absolutely talk to several local lenders and shop it around.Using an FHA product to purchase a multi-unit where you live in one and rent the other(s) is one way to avoid some of the highest rates (house hacking).

Be careful to avoid analysis paralysis.

Regardless of the states find a home now and buy it if you want to avoid higher sale prices and that comes with higher taxes!

For example if the house is worth 400K, but they are willing to sell it for 375k because they are avoiding having to pay 25k in agent fees, then the bank can consider the equity gap as a down payment.

Many traditional banks won’t touch them, and even DSCR lenders will avoid them if the build out is done prior the securing long term debt. 

Also, we have very competitive non-qm options that will allow you to avoid the overlays given when going with a GSE loan while also offering comparable rates.

You don’t want to get stuck in a money pit that drags out the timeline or eats into your profits.Two years is great for avoiding capital gains, but life happens, so always have a backup plan.

Considering buying the corp so avoid land transfer tax - that might help with the numbers.