Want to increase cashflow - should I payoff mortgage or buy another property

[Joe Kato]

I have a SFR that was my primary residence until I moved out of the state. It has been a good rental for last 4 years, but I need advice what to do with it. I have about $30K equity in the SFR if I sold it now.. I have since bought 2 multi-families that cashflow ~$800/mo, and the out of state SFR yields about $30/mo. If I payoff the mortgage ($50K) on the SFR, I can increase that property cashflow to $600/mo. Or I can use $50k for another multi-family down payment..

I am a little leery about continuing to buy in my home area as the market is flat, not much job growth, high taxes, etc. So paying off an existing mortgage is a safe bet to increase cashflow, but then I read others suggest to hold more mortgages to reduce your risk if the house market tanks and you can't sell it, you can cut losses and run for less than if you own the home free and clear.

Thoughts?

Cheers