10 Year Plan:

[Byran Parson]

My wife and I own two rental properties that will be paid off in 4 years.  I cashed flowed around 50% and 10% on the other.  I didn't follow the 10% rule on the one rental because of a particular situation so I've paid a little out of pocket for operating expenses.  All that said, I want to follow the 50% as much as possible.

In 4 years, when I'm 39 years old, I'm estimating that my wife and I will have around 30k per year to invest.  That's probably chump change for some of you but I'm excited about it.  

I can buy a nice single family rental home or half-duplex for 40-50k in our town.  Full duplexes are hard to get, but they go in the 60-80 range.  

I can theoretically buy two rentals per year.  Is it better to buy two rentals in a year or buy one rental with a larger down payment?  The other consideration is, will banks/people lend me that much money?  I know banks will give me trouble with that, I think.  I don't have any consumer debt.  No car debt, no consumer loan debt, no college debt.  I have my mortgage of $500 but that's it.  

My goal is to have between 10 and 20 rentals in my 40's so I can do well when I'm in my 50's.  

[Account Closed]

@Byran Parson sounds like you have already taken action and have a plan in place, congrats!  I would say it would be better to buy two per year than one, as long as the properties are cash flowing and you can handle the upkeep and management.  The easiest answer to your question on banks and lending is to ask.  Schedule meetings with commercial loan officers, let them know what you are doing and what your goals are.  Prepare your financials prior to your meeting and bring them with you.  Technically 1-4 units are residential but some lenders will let you bundle them together into one commercial loan.  I've found that your local credit union is easier to work with than some banks.  Credit Unions will likely hold the loan in house rather than sell it off so they can be flexible with lending decisions (as long as it is a good risk for them).