He Paid Off His Rentals... And Now He Regrets It With Dave Jacobs (Ep 572)

Dave thought he was making the smart move. By paying off several of his rental properties, he figured he'd lower his expenses, boost his cash flow, and simplify his portfolio. But after doing it, he started to feel like he made a mistake. Today, Dave believes he would have been better off keeping the debt and using that money to buy more properties. He shares why he thinks a larger portfolio with leverage could have outperformed a smaller, paid-off portfolio over the long run, and how losing the mortgage interest deduction changed the numbers. On this episode, we break down how Dave paid off his rentals, when the regret set in, and why he's hesitant to do a cash-out refinance to pull that equity back out. We also talk about the benefits of owning properties free and clear, so you can hear both sides of the argument. We dig into Dave's portfolio, including his strategy of owning properties in the same neighborhood and how self-managing helps him keep expenses low. He shares his actual numbers, including total rent, expenses, and net income, along with some of the toughest situations he's faced as a landlord. We also get into whether Dave thinks investors are better off using LLCs, and how he approaches structuring his business. Thanks To Our Sponsors: - Get working capital for your rentals quickly with a line of credit. - Retire from real estate investing and landlording (whether it's one problem property or your whole portfolio) through a 721 Exchange. - Making the investment mortgage process simple and stress-free. Sign up for a free 30-minute investor strategy session.

You can listen to He Paid Off His Rentals... And Now He Regrets It With Dave Jacobs (Ep 572) online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

He Paid Off His Rentals... And Now He Regrets It With Dave Jacobs (Ep 572) is an episode from Rental Income Podcast With Dan Lane: Landlord l Rental Property Owner l l Real Estate Investor l Passive Income l Find Good Tenants by Rental Income Podcast.

This episode is 24:41 long.

This episode was published on May 5, 2026.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from Rental Income Podcast With Dan Lane: Landlord l Rental Property Owner l l Real Estate Investor l Passive Income l Find Good Tenants when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.