no more growth after they have rubbed head to toe with an agent for non-re-growth

While it doesn't help your cash flow it does help your profitability and growth in net worth.Yes after refinancing you should have a significantly lower payment both due to interest rate and length of the loan.

@Jordan Sutherland  Disclaimer: I don't have a $5M portfolio lol, but here are my two cents: in the long run, when you're looking at the principle pay down and rent growth, it makes sense.  

Buy the right properties in the right areas (not "area" like Main and Main, I mean areas like U.S. cities where there is a lot of job growth and a likelihood that it will continue). 

If you want to extol the virtues of RE investing in Phoenix, you would be better served by pointing to growth rate, diversification of employment, redevelopment, etc. than the cost to purchase as historically higher priced areas have produced better ROI for RE than lower priced areas.  

From the posts on the BiggerPockets forums, I concluded I wouldn't enjoy being a landlord and decided to stay away from direct real estate.For my dividend growth portfolio, I know what the dividend income is and because the companies I chose for the portfolio have a long history of increasing their dividends per share each year, I have confidence they will continue to do so.

I'd be curious to see population growth, job growth, wage growth, etc. overlaid on top of this data.

That mold growth looks typical of that

Hey Barbara, The Triad has grown considerably over the years and still has plenty of population growth to support future development.

When owning the properties free and clear, is it best to think of them only on the income side of the equation and not on the asset growth side?