Need advice on what my next move should be

[Cam Jimmy]

Hello, I am currently a low experienced buy and hold investor. I own 1 duplex in my area that is only breaking even (possibly cash flowing a little bit during the summer months) with maybe $25,000 in equity. I just purchased this duplex 1 year ago for 3.5% down but have moved back to my small house after my mandatory year of living there. My house has about $70,000 of equity in it, but I still owe $160,000 on it using a 15 year mortgage. If me and my wife are semi frugal we can save about $20,000/ year since we live below our means anyways. In 1 more year from now all of our loans will be paid off (except for our mortgages) and I'll be able to save 30-35,000/yr. All that being said if YOU were me what moves should I make next? Try to pay off my house mortgage asap? Take equity out of my house to purchase another multifamily? save up %20 for a down payment on another multifamily (since my wife does NOT want to house hack again, and duplexes around me cost between $300K-500K, that would be about 80K id need for %20 down)? Anyways any advice would be awesome, especially from you experienced investors out there! If this helps, my overall goal is to stop working at my day job as soon as possible. Thanks!

[Anthony Dooley]

@Cam Jimmy It sounds like a good location. I would keep an eye on rents in that neighborhood and keep the curb appeal looking good for an opportunity to creep up the rents little by little. Also, keep an eye on property values so if the property appreciates over 80% LTV, you can ask the bank to drop the PMI. It may be worth paying for an appraisal to show the bank. I hope you make a million on it, but I've done the math on some deals there and found single digit returns.