Max out Roth or save for real estate?

[Tyler Hogan]

Hi guys, I wanted to get some outside opinions on something I’ve been thinking a lot about over the past year or so. 

I have a goal of reaching financial independence by 30. I am 25 years old, married, have a mortgage on my home and a heloc that I used to invest in an apartment syndication. Currently in the 24% tax bracket.

My father has always told me “max out your roth no matter what!”. I’ve been doing this and I realize the long term potential, however I feel like contributing $12,000/year slowing me down in the short term. I'm currently maxing out my roth and focusing on paying down the heloc with any other money I can come up with. If I stopped maxing out my roth I would pay the heloc off in less than a year and continue saving until I found a good rental property to purchase using my heloc and any additional cash I've saved. My thoughts are that if I repeat this process over the next few years it could expedite my journey to FI.

In short, should I continue maxing out my Roth or should I pause for a few years to pursue more real estate investments?

Thanks in advance.