Should I buy more or pay down the mortgages?

[Mark K.]

I'm fairly new at being a REI. I closed on my first SFR in January of 2017. I now have 3 SFR and 1 triplex. So, 6 doors.

I put at least 20% down on each. I have two with 5/1 ARM's and two with fixed rate, 30 year mortgages.

The mortgages are roughly $36K, $70.5K, $75K and $162K.

I'm retired with a pension and I have 2 PT jobs. My wife is still working FT.

I also have a HELOC with about $20K on it.

I'm 50 years old. Currently, I'm paying a tiny bit extra on each mortgage. I'm building up a cash reserve for each property. And, if I had an expensive emergency, I can get the funds to cover it.

So, I'm trying to figure out my best game plan. Do I try to pay off the $36K mortgage quickly, say in 2-5 years?

Do I just continue to pay a little extra on each one.

Do I save so I can pay cash for a BRRR house or maybe a $45K renovated, move in ready house or do I take that same money and just pay off the $36K mortgage?

[Alex Craig]

Get as many homes as you can afford, then start to pay them down.  I just paid off my first property this year and love how much extra cash flow that has created.  I am all about simplify life as you get older, especially if you have kids. I want to leave a large paid for portfolio to our kids, not a mountain of debt.