Your existing mortgage stays exactly as it is, and you are generally free to move out and rent the home instead of selling. When you financed your current home as a primary residence, you agreed to occupy it within 60 days of closing. That 60-day standard runs across the board: it sits in the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac uniform security instrument, FHA requires occupancy within 60 days of closing, and VA customarily expects occupancy within about 60 days as well. The commitment is about your intent at the time. It does not require you to live there forever, and moving out later does not by itself violate your loan terms or trigger the loan being called due. In practice, servicers essentially never audit occupancy after the fact; technically a loan could be called only if a lender could prove you never occupied the home as required in the first place. The number that can actually change is property tax, and it is state-specific: - Homestead exemptions. In states with a meaningful exemption, losing owner-occupied status brings a tax bump when the exemption falls away. California's homestead benefit is relatively small, so the effect there is minor. - Investment-property rates. Some states tax investment property at a higher rate than owner-occupied homes. Confirm the specifics with your servicer and a local tax professional before you convert, then run the after-tax rental numbers with the correct tax figure so the plan holds up.