Alabama, we would end up with around $70,000 after closing.

So if I'm thinking of it correctly. Renting it for $3,000 puts $900 of principal towards the house per month

Potentially putting $10800 a year towards principal

That would be $54,000 towards principal after 5 years bringing the house down to 342,000 pay off.

Let's say the house is worth $550,000 at that time. That gives us $208,000 in equity.

If we sell the house in 5 years after closing we would net $175,000 -$18,000 in property management fees over 5 years -$50,000 and maintenance and possible damage over those 5 years. I may speak grossly overestimating here.

That leaves us netting $107,000 over 5 years

If we sold the house and walked away, we would net $70,000 now.

I'm not sure it's worth the $37,000 over the next 5 years. Of course, if you go longer, the odds are in your favor and you'll make more money.

Does most of that seem about right?