Have you bought a house and put it up for rent when you PCSed? What are the Pros and Cons of doing this?

We did, and it worked, then didn't, then did again...
We bought when i was a DS at Jackson, I PCS'd to Alaska... 1st tennent was great, second was not and we found out how little support the SC court system gave the owner, and how much they favoured the renter. Bounced checks , no lease agreed upon penalties allowed to be imposed....no order to vacate the property when 3 months behind,,,,,when they suddenly came up with cash to pay rent,,then it started all over again in another 3 months...no payments, go to court, no penalties allowed, 3 months back rent paid in cash..
I took a TDY trip to Bragg, and a personal side trip to SC to discuss the situation with the renter on person. I asked him politely to ask out of his lease.....he did that same day.
Next renters were awesome ...they stayed for 4 years, we saw an uptick in housing prices and sold the house to the renters.

Lack of a local, trustworthy property manager is a deal breaker for me now...If I cant oversee the property it needs to be someone that will do what i would...
Research the local court responses to deadbeat renters.... do they favor the owner or the renter? Is there a particular "thing" in the contract agreement that triggers better court support of the property owner? Or a personal thing from owner to renter the 1st, and 2nd time late, ....that shows the court you "tried" and they then show absolute support to property owner on the 3rd time and the 1st time in court?

Lastly...if your finances do not allow you to pay the mortgage, without rental income for at least 6 months.. Its a risky venture.. if your finances do not allow you to drop $5k on repairs immediately it is a risky venture.....

PRO: Rental market is strong right now. I haven't missed a month of rental income for the past 5 years with my Tampa investment property. Good opportunity to generate positive cash flow and build equity. Possible CON: Could impact your VA loan limit for purhasing at your next duty station. Not a VA loan expert so I would verify this before making a decision.

I haven't, but my MSgt did and I got to hear some of the horror stories. The pros being a steady source of cash flow for a house you're not even living in. The cons are usually you are too far away to personally oversee the tenants.

So my MSgt owns multiple properties and he has close personal friends act as the landlords. Well one of his tenants flooded one of his houses and he had to replace flooring etc. So one of the downsides is the people who are renting your property could also destroy your property.

Don't want to discourage you, it's a good way to keep paying off a house that you can come back to when you retire. Just keep in mind that you will be a great distance from your house, so anything can happen.