Arguably, it's ALL about what ELSE you could be doing with those extra funds instead of paying down the principal.

@Alan Stalter, maybe I am missing the listing, as I don't see it for sale on Zillow (arguably, I didn't look past that). 

There are arguably nicer warm places to spend the winter, but I'm an avid angler and the desert doesn't work for me!

Don't forget about depreciation which will arguably be your largest expense.

There are several other Canadians virtually wandering the halls here - a few of them from the left coast - who can assist with an Canada specific questions.As an initial follow-on to your introduction post, you identified three of the more costly markets in which to invest: Vancouver is arguably the most expensive in Canada at the moment; many parts of California would be at the top of the property price range in the U.S.A.; and, as you are no doubt aware, nothing is cheap in London.

But unless you DO use your equity for further wise borrowings - it's arguably WASTED equity!

Arguably this is risky since I've no experience with rental properties. 

I don't want to beat a dead horse here but, yes, the rental market in Spring (and Houston in general) is arguably hotter than it's ever been.

It also taught me the business of real estate which is arguably worth many times what the house has brought me financially as I've been able to aggressively expand my holdings since then.A couple side notes: For others who don't have the financial aptitude, income, experience, etc. like Marc, I would take a closer look at the whole situation before jumping into real estate investing and taking on more debt (investment property mortgage is still a debt).  

You are still (arguably the most) crucial to the operation.