[quote=no_such_reality]Good point about the interest deduction flu on the rental.

For some there’s great comfort in paying off therimary. I also agree with HLS reasonable debt at reasonable rates is prudent as long as you don’t gamble.

You can lock up your money in equity or use it as the down payment for a small apartment building in a nearby state with a 7-10% cap rate.[/quote]

I totally agree. If you are able to pay off your primary and have sufficient reserves left over to pay for other things in retirement, you really can’t go wrong with the approach you take, and its a matter of personal preference imho. The key I think is as you head into retirement to try to pin your living costs and make them as fixed and consistent as possible. Fixed mortgages can do that if your income streams are more or less fixed. Or if you don’t want to deal with the pita factor of tenants, perhaps sell or 1031 exchange into a primary. I am trying to figure this out so who knows what strategy is optimal. I think I am just trying not to majorly screw this up.

The other thing about being old and retiring is if you sell and buy another property of equal or greater value, you can keep your old property tax rate. So if you had your primary since 1980 like my parents did, then your total property tax on a very nice single family home is probably less than 2 months of rent people pay on a 2 bedroom condo. And I believe if your kids end up inheriting those properties, that property tax rate continues. Prop 13 is just great. That probably is also one of the reasons housing inventory is staying low. Net of doing a house exchange is doing nothing to the inventory.