The Apex Predators versus The Conservationists.

[Roger Andrews]

Being a relative newcomer to rental property investing with only a few properties under my belt I often wonder what is the best end game result I should aim for? This post goes out to all the advanced level landlords and multi-family/commercial real estate investors out there. Simple question, should I become and “Apex Predator” or a “Conservationist” in this business? What do I mean? Essentially I’m asking how aggressive do suggest I get and more importantly stay over time? Is the best approach to continually buy, rehab, rent, sell, acquire more deals and hire quality people to help manage your hundreds and hundreds of units? Never ending reinvesting into growth and scaling up at every opportunity. Or? Is the concept of getting to a certain plateau and then working to pay off all the debt associated with the purchases always saving along the way for contingencies and then living off of all that free and clear income? After paying all expenses and taxes of course. Honestly, I certainly don’t remotely claim to know everything, but what I have clearly observed is that it’s always a bad idea to start a journey without knowing its destination. So I got to ask? Both systems seem great for long term wealth building but which path along the way is best?