I can see what you're saying about "might as well keep it if the rent covers the mortgage"... but I really think you'll get in trouble at some point. If you try to buy another house you may run into issues with already owning another one... even if it doesn't technically have a loan associated with it.
Also, are you in a financial situation to handle renters? Yes they may cover the mortgage, but what about upkeep and maintenance and what if something breaks? I believe you said its pretty new.... but you never know. Renters are also unpredictable... what happens if you have to evict them? Or they break their lease... can you pay for 2 mortgages?
I was in the same situation and it didn't boad well for me. I thought I could get renters in for the price I wanted but I was very mistaken and I ended up getting renters for nearly 50% of what the actual mortgage was. The rental market is pretty crazy right now, at least where I live... and I had a relatively newer place as well but somehow the renters managed to break the A/C like 3 months after they moved in... by then I was ready to file for bankruptcy and since I was letting them live there for free I made them pay to fix it.
Ultimately strangers on the internet can't tell you what to do with your life, but just make sure you're in the financial position to be able to be a landlord.
Personally, I can't see the reasoning for keeping a home that is so underwater... even if you had someone paying the mortgage 365 days of the year. In this market, it will take forever for home prices to come back up to what people owe. If you wanted to live in it and stay there I'd say yea go for it... but I can't see the logic in keeping it just to have it.
And I just went back and read this statement from your OP: "Then we can rent it out (small ~200/month negative cash flow). The goal being it will be paid off using rental income for the remainder of the mortgage life (~22 yrs)."
That just puts up all kinds of red flags to me... 1. its negative cash flow and 2. you think everything is gonna be peachy keen renters for 22 years?
What is the benefit of you keeping it and having to play landlord and lose money every month?
Also, are you in a financial situation to handle renters? Yes they may cover the mortgage, but what about upkeep and maintenance and what if something breaks? I believe you said its pretty new.... but you never know. Renters are also unpredictable... what happens if you have to evict them? Or they break their lease... can you pay for 2 mortgages?
I was in the same situation and it didn't boad well for me. I thought I could get renters in for the price I wanted but I was very mistaken and I ended up getting renters for nearly 50% of what the actual mortgage was. The rental market is pretty crazy right now, at least where I live... and I had a relatively newer place as well but somehow the renters managed to break the A/C like 3 months after they moved in... by then I was ready to file for bankruptcy and since I was letting them live there for free I made them pay to fix it.
Ultimately strangers on the internet can't tell you what to do with your life, but just make sure you're in the financial position to be able to be a landlord.
Personally, I can't see the reasoning for keeping a home that is so underwater... even if you had someone paying the mortgage 365 days of the year. In this market, it will take forever for home prices to come back up to what people owe. If you wanted to live in it and stay there I'd say yea go for it... but I can't see the logic in keeping it just to have it.
And I just went back and read this statement from your OP: "Then we can rent it out (small ~200/month negative cash flow). The goal being it will be paid off using rental income for the remainder of the mortgage life (~22 yrs)."
That just puts up all kinds of red flags to me... 1. its negative cash flow and 2. you think everything is gonna be peachy keen renters for 22 years?
What is the benefit of you keeping it and having to play landlord and lose money every month?
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