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.