<prompt> Human: I currently own my house free and clear. It is worth approx 300k. Career is stable. If I lost my job I could get another one.In about a years time I am considering moving to a larger home that better fits my needs. Lets say in the 400-500k range.One thing I am seriously considering is obtaining a mortgage for the new home but renting this house out for between 1500 and 2000 a month, essentially getting someone else to pay my new mortgage. I would be making a virtual mortgage payment to betterment like I do now on months that I receive a mortgage payment and paying the mortgage on months that I do not receive a payment, for example when the house is vacant or someone is waiting to be evicted.Id like to get some opinions on whether or not this makes sense. More specifically id like to hear from someone who has done this.  <response>: I havent done it but I have considered it and decided against it. I made a spreadsheet that compared both options: option 1 was to keep my current house and rent it out, and option 2 was to sell the house and re-invest the money elsewhere. The way the numbers shaked out for me that alternative investment would need to return about 10 to make option 2 the better investment. To me that isnt good enough to justify the risk of getting a bad tenant or an extended period of time with no tenant.Things to consider in your analysis: rental income is taxed as income. you would continue to pay real estate tax and insurance on your rental property. maintenance costs as a landlord might be higher than what youre used to as an owner. property management fees if you decide to use a property manager. the additional interest and higher interest rate you would pay by borrowing the full price of your new house as opposed to putting a 300k down payment using the money from the sale of your old house. 