There are only four reasons to invest in real estate. They are cash flow, loan payoff (also called principal reduction or equity buildup), tax savings and appreciation. In my opinion that biggest is cash flow. Here’s why….loan payoff is good, but it doesn’t give you any cash today……tax laws will change and you may not get any tax savings in the future and…… appreciation is iffy, who knows if the value will keep going up and even if it does you can’t eat equity. Therefore, if you can get cash flow, the other benefits are just gravy on top.