Pay down mortgage or create an emergency cushion?

[Alberto Furet]

I have two rental condos, one here in San Diego and the other in Chandler,Az, and I was wondering how to best use the cash flow. Should I use the cash flow to help pay down the mortgages or should I use it to build an emergency cushion or are there other options that mght be a better use of the money?

Thanks, for all your input,

[Robert Leonard]

I think people are way too extreme to want to pay back mortgages they get at today's rates a day early. If you are a growth investor and you need money to build your personal net worth, why on earth would you give extremely low cost money back to the bank early, only to later borrow at higher rates? 5 years from now, people are going to wish they could borrow at today's rates. Yet so many people are all infatuated with paying real estate off early. I think it's crazy to pay money back early if it costs less than 6% and you know how to make the kind of returns a good REI can make.