I'm looking to having my mortgages paid off as I plan on early retirement and the rentals are part of my retirement income.  

I will suggest you plan to House Hack a Duplex or Triplex or Fourplex every year for the next 4 to 5 years and you will thank me later.Goodluck man and keep us posted on your progress!

He knows we plan on continuing to grow our portfolio.

How do you plan to operate it?

A good real estate accountant can save you thousands of dollars by leveraging entity selection and formation, tax deductions, cost segregations, bonus depreciation and tax planning.I recommend finding an accountant who specializes in real estate taxation, business taxation, financial planning and tax planning.You may want to consider working with your accountant remotely to expand your options.I would also recommend looking for a accountant willing to work with you throughout the year.

The numbers have to work for your business plan or you will end up with a money pit.

Luckily, due to the number of items this person had at the home, we added charges for each day beyond the set closing date for them to vacate the property.

But if your a W 2 and real estate is how you are planning on retiring by investing that is a completely different lifestyle and motivation and game plan. 

If you plan to resell, I think it's wise to discuss with seller in advance and that way the lien on the property can be transferred to second buyer, but you can continue to make payments at the former schedule etc.

I got a Google Vacation Rental booking almost immediately and a direct booking.