Running generic numbers:The ~$900 rent would have covered your mortgageYou'd save by not paying rent - assuming ~$850/monthTaxes out of pocket would be ~$350/monthInsurance & repairs you'd pay, say $100/month eachSavings on commutePrincipal reduction of around $350/monthBasically, your out of pocket expenses would have been reduced by $300+/month, you would have been accumulating net worth because of the principal reduction by +$350/month, you had the possibility of appreciation, you'd have been able to deduct ~$7000 in interest expense from your taxes, and you'd have saved money / time / stress on your commute.

My plan is to find some buy and hold properties to build my wealth, while accumulating some cash flow. 

Although I specialized in mobile homes for over 20 years I learned enough from BP contributors to also accumulate a nice portfolio of real estate.I developed my own contract for selling mobiles (many provisions good for real estate too) that saved a lot of time and headaches.

I am big time into buy and hold, that is really how you accumulate long term wealth, not temporary income.I often regret the ones I sold as much as I regret the ones I didn't buy.

The graph will allow you to see just how much equity you stand to accumulate through rent increases and principle paydown.I househacked my first property in 2010; lost cashflow years due to non-paying tenants, lost 10's of thousands on law suits pertaining to the property and appreciation is the only thing that has kept me in the black.All the best to you on your search!

I’d like to accumulate as many properties in this inflationary environment as possible.

There are two primary ways of accumulating wealth within real estate: cash flow and property appreciation (debt paydown and tax benefits are other factors as well).

Payoff a mortgage every 2 years and slowly accumulate properties.

The link you provided is a pretty thorough discussion of the financial and emotional cost of paying down the debt early vs investing excess cash elsewhere.I will say that as someone that is still in the accumulation and wealth building phase, I aggressively invest and expect, through the combination of hard work, opportunity, and knowledge that I am trying to expose myself to that I can achieve substantially greater than 5-10% returns over the next decade.

The dilemma I am facing is the risk vs reward of tapping into the equity I have accumulated.