All Forum Posts by: Robert Reynolds

Thank you all for the great information. This has been very helpful. This is my first time posting on bigger pockets and I am amazed with how beneficial this has been.

@derek diamond Thank you for your great input! I am kind of leaning towards the 15 year option as well, but I am still new to real estate investing. I do not want make a rookie mistake and forget about the opportunity cost just because I've heard it is good to pay off your mortgage quicker.

Hello,

I will soon be moving to Texas for work. I plan on buying my first home out there, but I am also planning on beginning to invest in buy and hold properties soon after I move. My wife and I will both be getting promotions and have a much lower cost of living, so we will be using this extra money to invest in real estate. I should be out there for about 5 years while saving to move to San Diego, CA. I know about the benefits of house hacking, but that option is not viable for my family. My main question is whether I should pay down the mortgage to have equity to use on the San Diego house while still investing in real estate, or make the normal payments and invest more aggressively in real estate?

Here are some numbers to give a bigger picture:

Current rent: $2,020

Mortgage payment estimate:

about $1,500 for a 15 year loan

about $1,100 for a 30 year loan

Should I get the 15 year loan and make extra principle payments to build equity to put towards the San Diego house, while slowly building my buy and hold investment portfolio?

Or, should I go for the 30 year loan and use the extra money to aggressively build my investment portfolio?

Thank you,

Robert