This is of course excellent for risk reduction as you're accelerating the payment of the note.

Hi, Thanks all for the great responses...was planning to answer earlier but had to tend to three of my sheep which decided to all stray in different directions...mainly was running after a contractor that missed a deadline and then slowed down even further since he realized my house is not rentable for fall semester anyway...so what's the rush..Wanted to add some more context.Both portfolios are composed of 4-5 BR houses and are scattered all around campus within walking distance to campus.

@Jon KlausThis has been a good idea in my area for a long time, don’t think it ever slowed much if any in my area

Personally, I only accelerate higher risk and/or higher rate loans and I have quite a few free and clears. 

Slow and steady wins the race.

In slow markets it's negotiable, so it's possible you might have paid them going in.

Since China has now limited the money exiting their country, LA has seen a slow down in home sales.

I think it will be interesting to watch whether that area is able to keep taking off if the economy slows or the market turns but for right now it does seem to have some promise.

In my market, the buying season slows down considerably after August. 

I'm putting this right here under fees because technically if your property manager is SLOW this is another hidden 'fee' that will eat away any profits you are projecting.