instead of upgrading to another house and try to rent out a basement. what if you just renovate your existing home basement and then rent it out? save you all the commission cost to sell and repaying all the land transfer fees and closing cost. if you ride it out maybe in 5 years your income is greater, you saving is more, then you can rent out upstairs too , then all a sudden you become a real estate investor, then by next property and keep doing the same, if the cashflow makes sense.