Payoff my current properties or keep buying?

[Ben Daniel]

Hello

I started my real estate journey 4 years ago, purchased a few properties every year, my current portfolio includes 17 units with a monthly cash flow of $8K, now I am trying to figure out my next step.  My initial cash flow goal was $12K to cover our monthly expenses, with inflation its looks like we need $15k.

I have $1.4M in debt and $2.2M equity in my properties and I don't like debt, I am trying to figure out if it makes sense to start to pay off my 9 mortgages and reach my goal of 15K with free and clear properties (I believe I can do it in 6-8 years). 

The biggest struggle is to pay 3%-3.5% mortgages... I am sure I will look back 15 years from today and think I did a huge mistake

I will love to get opinions from more experienced investors

Thanks