Major Renovations

We got our current house for a song. It cost about half what the other houses in the area were going for at the time, and about one fourth what most of the McMansions are currently going for in the neighborhood.
It's needed work, which I swore I would do. So far, I've done all the work that was really necessary and let the other stuff slide. I just hate doing that stuff.

Well, no more! I've found a great contractor, whom my coworkers have known for 30 years. I just gave hime the go-ahead on:

Vinyl Siding the whole house [it's currently wood]
New gutters
All new windows
New back deck
Two new garage doors
One automatic garage door opener

We have talked about moving to the North GA mountains, and I'm currently looking at a house that's on over an acre of wooded land. I am thinking of keeping the current house as a rental property. Naturally, being a landlord is a pain in the ass, but it's also a good way to build equity and maintain a nice income stream and safety net.
I figure I could clear about $500/month from it. That'll pay off all the renovations in about two years.

If we stay, I'll like the house a whole lot better.

Update 7-25 : Amazing! The builder dropped off the materials for the deck yesterday. They came this morning, tore off the old deck and built a new one by 2 PM.