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.