I am a former NASA robotics scientist, degreed in Applied mathematics, Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical engineering, (and a few other degrees not relevant in this case). this doesn't mean that I am automatically right and you are wrong.

You are the one failing to supply the mathematical calculations of how you plan to replace $8,000 a month in appreciation. 

My feeling is that if a finance whiz did a mathematical model on these approaches you would come out ahead focusing on one specific property at a time for early paydown but I am not that whiz so I won't undertake to prove it with math.  

My question to Mike is purely mathematical: how much market must loose in order for me to start losing money from my paycheck?

Strengths:  People skills, carpentry, gifted (IQ), career is math teacher, love analyzing deals, pretty good instincts with numbers, etc, lots of experience flipping home owner houses (hired by others to renovate bathrooms, kitchens, and have done whole house gut renos), degree in mathematics and interior design, basically skilled at making profit for not a lot of $$, knows what neighborhood I want to buyWeakness:  not a lot in savings, not clear judgement who is a good lender or agent (easily ‘fooled’), credit isn’t strong either because I just went through a divorceWhat do you suggest?  

Why do we make students take advanced mathematics past basic arithmetic?  

It may seem that it would make no mathematical difference whether it's deducted from one property or spread between the two of them, and often it does not.

B.S. in Mathematics (stats concentration) with a minor in Business.Graduated from Monmouth University in 2014.

(Take it from a Mathematics degreed, NASA scientist).You can not take a small sample from a larger environment with a specific set of characteristics and group them into one audience and then conclude that BECAUSE of the characteristics you have seleceted you then project that characteristic over the entire group.Duh.. that obviously doeant make sense.Let me translate this into English.You have a bunch of apples. some red, some green some yellow.You take all the red ones away and place them into one group.

If you followed a blog that told you the math didn't matter, you should do this instead, and then gave you an affiliate link to an investment that was mathematically inferior you would likely stop taking the advice of that blogger.