As I am seeing 1.2 or 1.4 million 2 family house and not sure if its even going to cover the mortgage or not with 25% done. 

I would like to put my money to work instead of shoveling my money into the bank (mortgage) or to a landlord (renting).

We currently own 13 rental properties and have paid off all loans/mortgages including our primary residence. 

With a $950 mortgage and rental rates around $1,500, you’d have strong cash flow and continue growing your wealth.

However, if I had started off with a house hack, I could have lower my monthly mortgage tremendously which would have helped me build up my savings at a much quicker pace than I had.

So, in your example it might be at 9% interest rate which would make the weighted average HIGHER than taking out a mortgage at today's interest rates because the 2nd mortgage would be 3x as much as the 1st mortgage. 2.

Quote from @Benjamin Finney: Chris, interesting niche on non-performing mortgages/ rtl's.

I know all my investment mortgages prior to 08 were 6.5 to 7.5 % and that was fine.

This has definitely paid dividends for us when it comes to mortgage rates and lending options. 

But after an exchange - sign the purchase documents with one pen and pick up another pen to sign the refi docs :)Another strategy you could consider is reinvesting into multiple properties, where you purchase the first property cash (ensures some security and concentrates the equity) and the second property with a mortgage.