Debt paydown strategy with multiple mortgages.

[Brant Richardson]

I currently have seven SFH rental properties. Five of them have small mortgages, 40-60k. The interest rates on each mortgage is pretty similar 4.5-5.25%. They are all 30 year fixed rate mortgages. I also have a 28k student loan which has a rate of %2.5 but I can not write it off my taxes due to my income. I recently cosigned a 600k mortgage to get my mother into a home a couple blocks away from me so I could take care of her as she ages. That move changed my debt to income ratio from maybe being able to get another small mortgage to definitely not being able to get another mortgage. I have a solid emergency fund and no credit card or vehicle debt. The combination of my debt to income ration and the feeling that the market is pretty high right now has me thinking about finishing the acquisition phase. I know, I can get more creative for my next deal and I may do that but I would like some input on the best strategy if I did decide to move into the pay down phase.

Should I?

   1.  Pay down the mortgage with the highest rate first?  Obviously mortgages with lower rates are better.

   2.  Pay down the smallest mortgage first?  Once that loan is completely paid off I will have increased cash flow to put it into paying down the next mortgage and so on.

   3.   Pay down all the loans equally?  Get my 30 year mortgages paid off in 15.

   4.   Pay down the student loan first?  It's not tax deductible like my other loans but the rate is so low that it doesn't make much difference.  Also, that loan would follow me if I was to go bankrupt.

                                   Thanks for your input