That is especially true with the tax law change that went into effect this year; the standard deduction nearly doubled, so the taxes you save by itemizing might be much less than they were in the past (in other words, because you are getting a larger benefit through the larger standard deduction the "cost" of not having the mortgage interest deduction might be less).I can see an argument for there being better uses for your money than to pay off a mortgage with a 5.5% interest rate (if you can make an investment that pays at least 6% for example), but if your quality of life will improve because you paid off your debt and are now "financially independent" then that is what you should do.

Go visit houses on your area / network,5.

we've been asked the same question by a dozen or so good friends who live in/near SF about whether it's worth postponing the ownership dream, given where the bay area market is in 2018. personally, I think that right now is the time to hold off on entering the bay area market... unless you find a truly off-market, discounted opportunity through networking or a personal connections.sidenote: moving to the east bay (alameda, particularly) actually shortened my commute time into my day job in SF, compared to when i lived in SF. i'm sure you've heard this perspective before, but there's goodness to be found in the east bay, if you are dead set on buying in 2018/2019.from an investing perspective, there are still strong returns to be found outside of california. that's why we recommend to friends with capital that they consider looking into investment. that way they can start building wealth now and position themselves for buying that beautiful home when the time is financially right. sidenote: i recently posted on a similar topic on this thread. you can see if you scroll down and there are dozens of other helpful comments on this topic, on that thread: https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/12/topics/587593-general-do-you-rent-or-own-the-home-you-currently-live-in?

I still need to build my network but I'll keep all that in mind :)

I already have a HELOC on it and I am trying to raise my HELOC balance but the issue that I am running into is that the larger institutional banks are not willing to use the rental incomes from my 3 units toward my income in determining my debt to income ratio because the building is my primary residence. 

This is a relatively new concept to me and no one in my direct network has experience with these types of transactions and tools, so I'm in the dark.

Either way, developing a team where each person has a specialty is critical in larger multifamily.

There are more event if you look under "Network" then "Event", but there are kinda far from where you at but def worth checking out.

Places to go to look for investors: networking events - this is popular these days.

If you need more help or want to network let me know.