But I have found that to get a mortgage through my holding company based on the merits of the deal does not necessarily get me as good a rate as a personal mortgage.

While paying down the mortgage sooner has its merits, it's crucial to weigh this against alternative investment opportunities.Regarding upgrading to a property with better cash flow/appreciation potential, it's challenging to surpass the cash flow of a quadruplex unless venturing into commercial assets.

If the condo was purchased to owner occupy, the example has zero merit for this thread that we are referring to RE investments.  

@Carlos Ptriawan suggestion has merit.    

You know what you are looking at and are making investment decisions based on merit, not the case with most.

Quote from @Sam Yin: Quote from @Carlos Ptriawan: Quote from @V.G Jason: Quote from @Carlos Ptriawan: Quote from @Sam Yin: There are many strategies, and they all have their merits.

Both options have merit: the standalone approach allows for independence and customization, while the duplex route offers potential rental income.

This seems like something useful to enough people that it would merit the TINY revision of their process that it would take. 

But I have no inherent interest in real estate on its own merits.

My end goal is to relocate to TX and in the interim , if I can use this opportunity to hold on to one door as a rental property( my current home ), I would like to assess the financial merits and demerits of the same.