To leverage or not to leverage?

[Matt Judd]

Hello everyone! I am finally at the time when I feel ready to purchase my first investment property. I have a couple of houses picked out that look great when I run the numbers.  I am pre-approved to make the purchase and have money for the 20% down payment. However, I'm leery of leveraging debt to purchase a property. I don't have a problem with one purchase, but  my goal is to continually add to my real estate portfolio. As I'm new to this, I'm having issues with the vision of how this winding road turns out. I know I'm not the first person to pause at the thought of leveraging debt. I don't need help making the plunge, but perhaps a nudge in the right direction would be better. What are your thoughts about this? Thank you for your time!