The idea of debt-free is that if a person is going to retire and has to completely depend on the income, they don't want a severe recession surprising them and causing them to default on the debt and losing the properties.In a normal world, I would do that as well.

It really depends on how it’s structured.  

It all depends on your investor profile.

@Diana Mulvihill A lot will depend on your local market and competition.

Finding a good tenant in non-peak leasing season in Oklahoma is not for the faint of heart, especially depending on where the house is located.

Sounds like you are happy with the answers but here is something else to consider: NJ is a judicial foreclosure state so timeline to foreclose is multiple months at a minimum and could even be over a year depending on the tools you have.Is your lender a big institution or a smaller private lender?

The best area really depends on your goals—whether you’re looking for steady year-round bookings, high seasonal demand, or strong appreciation.

It works...but any marketing works, it just depends. 

I think we are competitively priced, so most of out tenants have been renewing, but we plan to test higher rents in 2025  for our larger apartment buildings to account for the steep increase in insurance prices.There have been A LOT of new apartment buildings put up recently in the Cedar Rapids metro area, so depending on the class of tenant you have, maybe that could account for some of softening you are seeing? 

Cost will likely be around $120 - $160 / sqft depending on finish out and how much one the existing house needs to change.