Your thoughts on leverage

[Ryan C.]

Hi everyone. This is my first post. I love the site so far! I'll try to keep this short. My question regards leverage. I own two properties, a SFH and a 5-plex. I'd like to continue buying properties (my goal is 2 per year), but my down payment dollars will likely come in the form of leverage against the other properties (although, not against my own house!) My mentor/realtor is a wealthy man and a family friend. He tells me to be cautious of leverage because I can get myself into a bad position; however, at my current rate of savings ($400/mo), it will be hard to continue moving forward with my investing. I found a good rent house that will require a $9k down payment which I can leverage, but that would tie up all my available equity. Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!