What would a wise man (or woman) do?

[Ivan Loza]

Help steer me in the right direction please.

I am a 25 year old school teacher who can currently save around 40k a year. Mostly from my salary, but I also own two SFH which I rent for $1300/month each with mortgages of around $800/month, including taxes and insurance.

My goal is to retire by the age of 35 and focus my energy on either owning an apartment complex or commercial real estate. What road do you think would help me arrive to my destination?

1) Continue to buy and hold every time I save enough for a mortgage until I reach the 10 mortgage limit?

2) Go up to 4 mortgages then focus on paying the 4 properties off one at a time?

3) Take 1 mortgage out per year and invest the rest in index funds?

4) -Create an alternative road-

*Any year now I could fall in love, get married and have kids. This might substantially increase or decrease my savings potential.

[Jeremy Wickens]

I think this is going to come down to your personality and what nich suits you the best in real estate but I would start by analyzing as many deals as possible as if you are going to need to find 100% of the money elsewhere and as if you aren't going to lift a finger to run the operation. By doing this you will not fall for properties that only cashflow well because of your savings and you will create systems that will work if your teaching and your love life get crazy. 

Good luck