Here’s a quick comparison to help clarify your decision.Real estate investing (REI), especially in multifamily properties, offers more predictable cash flow and tangible assets that appreciate over time.

Current Denver area investors, what wisdom can you share about buying a home in the area at this time? 

It sounds like you really nailed the strategy and timing on that one.

I have wholesaled properties like this in the past, but I'd like to keep this one for myself if possible. 

While this trend is reshaping industries across the board, one sector is particularly impacted in ways many may not realize: real estate.

I never understood why one would want to pay a low interest mortgage off early:- the difference in rate of return for appreciation of a 80% LTV vs 50% LTV is 2.5x.

You export from one and import from the other.  

Start paying them down to free up maximum cash flow, at a time when you want to consider retiring.  

Next time I go to an open house, I'll ask one of them if I were to buy this as a rental do you think it would work as an LTR, MTR or STR and what's the cash on cash return and median rent in this neighborhood. 

However, only one person has been paying the taxes on the property - the gentlemen I went under contract with.