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Should I pay off my house before buying rental property?

By Matthew Martinez

The main reason to not pay off your mortgage and to instead invest in rental property is cash flow. The idea is that if you buy a rental property, the cash you would have used to pay off your mortgage will make you money. It does this by generating cash flow from the rental property.

How much should you cashflow on a paid for rental property?

Aim for $100–$200 in cash flow per unit that you buy. For a duplex, you would want to make $200 at minimum. If it’s a fourplex, then $400 minimum. You want that to be cash flow leftover in your pocket after all the bills have been paid.

How much does it cost to pay off a rental property?

This home also has a mortgage, but it is at 4.75% APR. With our first rental property paid off, we plan to snowball the rent from house #1 to pay off house #2. That means we’ll pay $2,000 a month on this property, which is around $1,300 more than the minimum monthly mortgage payment.

Why did we pay off our rental property early?

Since we’re debt-free besides the mortgage (and fully intend to stay that way), all we really need is enough income to pay for utilities, food, medical care, insurance, and miscellaneous bills. At the end of the day, this is what it’s all about.

Which is better to pay off a primary home or a rental property?

I think that in most people’s minds, there’s a difference in priority regarding the decision to pay off a mortgage on a primary residence or a rental property. There may be more urgency to pay off a primary residence than an investment property, simply based on reducing monthly expenses.

How much do I owe on my second rental property?

Right now, we owe around $70,000 on our second rental property, a three-bedroom ranch that is larger and nicer than the first. This home also has a mortgage, but it is at 4.75% APR. With our first rental property paid off, we plan to snowball the rent from house #1 to pay off house #2.