Ultimately controlling your spending and making extra principal payments is the way pay your mortgage off early.Also one final warning, you must state on the extra payment that it is "Principal Only" or the mortgage company will apply it towards interest and principal.

If you're comfortable living where you are, equity in your current property or your savings rate would be the two other ways to get your next one which is going to be much slower.

This growth fuels demand, drives appreciation, and ultimately makes strategies like BRRRR or cash-out refinancing viable over the long term.

True re the prior poster, re this helping the seller save their credit, if you buy sub-to you will dramatically raise their FICO since the mortgage will show on-time payments.  

If you pay down $100K in loan saving you $1K in monthly costs against rental income, or you invest that $100K in something that generates $1K in net income the result is similar.

That would help me save taxes on the commission. 

They did contact me asking to invest despite initially telling me it was full (space opened up, etc, etc) but I just ignored them after learning other's experience.I am happy I saved someone from this group. 

A landlord cant deduct home office, cant save for his retirement, nothing.  

Before investing here I suggest you read The Ultimate Guide to Grading Cleveland Neighborhoods to get yourself an understanding on the market.

Fine-tuning your savings, building a reserve fund, and running detailed ROI projections will help solidify your plan for long-term success.Good luck!