How to grow from 3 units to 15 in less than 5 years?

[Dustan Marshall]

I have been doing buy and hold real estate since 2013. I now have a handful of single family rentals. we recently had our first child and my wife in interested in staying home with him. so the question becomes how can I grow the rental business to the point where it allows us to have her stop working.

we need $5,000 net. in my market that looks like 15 sfr free and clear or 35 sfr using loans with the 50% rule.

when I run the numbers at our current brrrr method and cash flow, it looks like the earliest I will get to that point is 20 years.... which kinda misses the point of staying home with our son.

so the question to BP, is how did you scale your buisness. particularly if you did so in 5 years or less.  

[Thomas S.]

Sell all your SFHs and invest in multi units. The important factor in increasing income is the number of doors you own not the number of buildings.

As a side not having equity in a rental property decreases cash flow due to the opportunity value of cash. It is a common misconception with novice investors that equity (free and clear) in a property is a good thing. The reverse is the case.

Opportunity money is worth minimum 10% where as a mortgage is in the 3-5% range. Having equity in a property cost you minimum twice as much as a mortgage of the top of your rent.