just wanting to get BP people's opinion on what way is the best route to go with regards to buying RE with leveraging or getting properties paid off as soon as possible and why?

I seem like a complete downer on these forums, but building new homes is much more difficult than most people think."

But what a lot of people don't know is that if you have owned your property for say 5-10 years - all that deferred appreciation your county tax appraiser has been tracking all those years - but not able to pass it along to you due to the caps on increases - goes out the window.  

So many people get suckered into these "deals". 

All I can tell people is that REI has been very good to me.

  $960,000 / .08 % = $12,000,000Most people with $12,000,000 are not going all in on Real Estate.  

Some people are not worth the headaches. 

Get your pulse on the area market by looking at STR calendars and possibly talking to realtors and other people in the market.

I can’t say this never works—plenty of people have done one or more deals this way.  

Most people know this.