I would only pay the mortgage off with excess cash flow that was not needed for the running of the asset.. if your making a few hundred a month positive whats that going to do for you mine as well pay it down so you don't just spend the money on dinner closes starbucks etc. 

I'm at my highest and best....and can't spend 20K on a vinyl job.

You will spend months finding a new property, paying the closing fees, and reinvesting to buy another property and all this for maybe $5-8,000 worth.

Well, if you buy the note then of course you can control the time line, and hopefully at a discount.

You could spend $10,000 painting the house pink with blue polkadots, that doesn't mean the house is worth $10,k more, it might be worth $10k less after a paint job like that.

Would end up spending more monthly on rent than the current mortgage though.It also just occurred to me that I could refinance and get some cash out.

On a deck you want to be sure you control the type and quality of the product applied.

I've requested the last three bank statements to take a closer look at their financial situation and spending habits. 

You also need to spend a winter here before you plunk down the money to buy at these prices. 

We had been considering Hemet, but it sounds like the crime situation there may be out of control - is this accurate?