As long as that cook prepared all the ingredients in the stew, that cook made it, if it's good or bad he gets the credit.

Rinse & repeat until you hit the limit of 10 mortgages.It's arguably the simplest way to acquire more properties with the best debt terms available.Since you already have 3 properties, you presumably already have a lot of the necessary experience to execute this strategy (e.g.; market & property analysis experience, due diligence experience, property management experience, etc.).And, since you also have good W2 income, if you want to mix in some other strategies (e.g.; and occasional BRRR, etc.), you can probably do that...though, I suggest that the aforementioned strategy should be your bread and butter (since it's lower risk and less work than ARV-dependent and more complicated strategies like BRRR'ing).As for whether to pay off the debts on your existing properties...this depends on factors like: what are your current debt terms?

It's not too late.Time is the most important ingredient in RE investing, but given you have been in the workforce long enough I believe you should have some money saved up for either cash purchases or very large down payments as well as good credit.I'm also guessing you have access to some better deals since you have been a realtor for 5 years. 

That would give you a portion of duplex for yourself (though there would be a mortgage)Or.. the simplest was proposed above, sell it, split the proceeds and use yours to invest in another property.

We are well on way into a REI industry where entry is difficult, expensive, exceptionally detailed, where small variations of #'s or %'s can mean success or failure, where a person with limited means is not afforded a seat at the table, and the industry is dominated by highly professional, well funded, organized operators, or in simplest form, a normal investing market. 

Typically your two options would be:Show a tax return for the current year with substantially higher income (i.e. claim more of your cash income on your taxes and wait until 2020 filing are been completed to purchase.Have someone co-sign on the loan.Co-signing is usually the simplest and fastest route, but if that doesn't work for you then you might speak with the lender about the first idea.Good luck with the upcoming purchase!

That is the simplest I can write it.

In contracts the simplest ones are generally the best.

This is the simplest method, but it also means your tenants are more likely to abuse the utilities by leaving windows open with the heat or A/C running, leaving lights on, ignoring the toilet that constantly flushes on its own, etc.3.

I'm an IT guy by day (architect - 20 years in IT), so leveraging technology has been the main ingredient in enabling us to scale our RE business, while still maintaining our day jobs.