So one thought about that is to buy something with a small cabin on it that can be rented .. so you preserve your ability to build.. other than that not really complicated at all..

We are investing for the future so while cash flow is important it is more important that appreciation out paces inflation preserving our cash flow. 

This can provide a hedge against the market cycle risk.All of this means that you can have your cake and eat it too, but you have to align yourself with a group that understands the risks and executes with capital preservation first, and return second.

I still do buy and hold, but I do it in a way that preserves my $40k or more profit upfront regardless of the economy.  

Assuming you buy 5 a year for the next 4 or 5 years and then ramp up to say 10 a year after that and you're very aggressive in preserving your capital and paying down your mortgages.If you could get to 60 houses in 8 years that have a gross profit (rent minus PITI) of 400/mo or more, you should be able to hit 400k a year in 25 years.....And even if you don't, you should still have an incredible amount of cash flow of equity in those 60 homes.I know, for myself, there's no way I would have ever been able to save up enough in my 401k to be worth a million dollars or to have a really good post-retirement income.

He might just get his satisfaction from being able to tell people he owns a rental condo. even if it isn't the best investment at the moment.I ran into one of these guys once and he had already been under the water once and was gasping for air and was going down for the second time but he refused the life preservers being thrown to him.

And, although a bit less passive, your asset would be preserved like a fire truck due to constant cleaning and maintenance. 

But the key here is that, by leveraging your money via financing, you will preserve as much cash today (to use to buy more homes) as you possibly can.Paying off a home, to me, makes zero sense if your intent is to grow your portfolio.btw: While it was a great time to buy 4 years ago, there is always a deal to be had out there if you stick with it. 

The advantage to the homeowner is avoiding foreclosure and preserving their credit.

Therefore we invest in long term appreciating assets to preserve our cash flow.