Hey guys, I have a "what would you do" type question.
We are from a northern state but have been living in florida for a few years. We are moving back up north, but aren't 100% sure we will want to stay there. We're about 90% sure, but there's a 10% chance we might want to move back down here again.
We are trying to figure out whether it makes more sense to rent out our house here in florida or just to sell it. Selling it means it would be more difficult, or less likely, for us to move back down here. But in crunching the numbers it isn't really a great rental.
If we rented, then after all expenses we would have a net gain of around $25,000 for the year (after management, taxes, insurance, loan interest, maintenance, etc). After 1 year, we would choose to either sell it, or keep renting it until we move back in.
If we sold, it would probably list for around $950,000 and we'd net around $450,000. If we decided we wanted to move back down then we'd have to rent or buy from out of state, which is always trickier, but the peace of mind of not having a second house down here (especially through hurricane season) would be nice.
The money doesn't really make any meaningful difference to our financial situation at the moment as we are already fat fired without the rent or sale proceeds, but I always like to make the best financial decision either way.
What would you do? Any advice?