Invest now or later

[John Palm]

I work a full time job and have very good credit, I have good relationships with local real-estate agents, lenders and contractors. I've been looking for investment properties (rents or flip) depending on the property and area. I found a few properties to put offers on but now I find myself in a mental tug of war match between investing or paying off personal debt. If I go the paying off debt route it would take me a few years to be able to invest again, if I go the investing route I ultimately take on more debt but can gain income from it obviously putting me in a position to pay off debt. I expect to purchase a rental property or two each year if I start investing now. Can anyone give me a better perspective on which road to take? Am I just getting cold feet about taking on risk or am I making a sound argument to put myself in a better position to invest down the line. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

[Ali Boone]

There are two things I would consider:

1. Is the interest on your debt higher or lower than the returns you would receive on a piece of real estate? If it's lower, buy the real estate for sure.

2. Real estate prices are going up, hard. I'd buy anything you can now so you get the best deals. Unless the returns are drastically lower than what you are paying in interest on the debt.