Hypothetical game plan, not guaranteed
From one house to 155, every one paid off
A fictional 35-year-old with a $120,000 job and $30,000 saved. No inheritance and no partners. Fifty years, five phases and 32 cycles. In this model the person owns 155 rented houses by 85 with no debt at all, and is debt-free at 81. The stress tests below show how easily that number falls.
155houses paid off at 85
81age debt-free
$1.1 millionnet rent a year at 85, in today's dollars
$6.1 millionpeak debt at 71, in today's dollars
Watch it happen
Drag the slider or press play. Each house shape is one rental: outlined means not bought yet, light means owned with a loan, dark means paid off.
Houses: · Paid off:
Debt: ( today)
Net rent this year: ( today)
Job:
Bought this year:
The five phases
- Launch, 35 to 39. Build the savings machine and buy the first homes with ordinary loans.
- Build, 40 to 59. One or two leveraged buys a year, then the first rehab-and-refinance deals.
- Scale, 60 to 71. Four rehab deals a year plus leveraged buys, on portfolio loans after the first ten.
- Kill the debt, 72 to 80. Stop buying. Every dollar of net rent goes to the highest-rate loan first.
- Harvest, 81 to 85. Debt-free. Net rent buys houses outright, for cash, every year.
The math of one house
A $100,000 house renting for $1,050 a month nets about $630 a month after expenses. With a $75,000 loan at 7.75%, the payment is $537, which leaves about $93 a month. Once it is paid off, the whole $630 is free. Thin at first, strong at the end: that is the whole plan, repeated.
Houses by age
Debt rises, then falls to zero
Rent passes the job
Net rent passes job pay around age 50.
Stress tests: what if?
Same plan with one assumption changed at a time. Most realistic surprises land between about 50 and 140 houses. Reaching 150 needs the plan to go roughly as drawn.
The assumptions
- A fictional 35-year-old with a $120,000 job, raises of 3% a year, working until 67. $30,000 saved to start. No inheritance, no partners, no family money.
- Saves 20% of gross pay for houses every working year (the first year that is $24,000). Social Security is left out.
- Houses cost $100,000 today and rent for $1,050 a month, in lower-cost markets. Prices and rents rise 3% a year.
- Taxes, insurance, repairs, replacements, vacancy and an 8% manager fee take 40% of rent.
- Loans: 25% down, 30 years, 7.75% for the first ten, 8.00% after that. A house is bought only if rent covers the payment, taxes and insurance at least 1.1 times.
- Rehab-and-refinance deals from 37 on, up to 4 a year, leaving 8% of the value in after the refinance.
- About six months of rent per house is kept in cash and never spent on buying.
- Buying stops at 72. All net rent then goes to the highest-rate loan first. After the last loan, net rent buys houses for cash.
- Rental income is taxed at about 22% after interest and a rough depreciation figure. A CPA's numbers will differ.
- Dollars are shown as they will be (future) and in today's dollars (divided by 3% a year). Rate drops, refinances, exchanges, house-hacks and the other uncounted cycles would only add.
Where it can break
- Peak debt is about $17.7 million at 71 ($6.1 million in today's dollars) across 116 loans. A deep recession with high vacancies at that point is the single biggest danger.
- Each leveraged house only nets about $100 a month at first. A few bad tenants or a roof can wipe out a year of a small portfolio's profit.
- Lenders can change rules. Portfolio and rental-income loans can have higher rates, shorter terms or balloon dates.
- Rehab deals depend on finding houses below value and on reliable crews. Fewer deals means fewer houses (see the stress tests).
- Insurance and property taxes have been rising faster than rents in many areas. If costs reach 45% of rent, the result drops to about 95 houses.
- Running 100+ rentals is a business. A manager, bookkeeper, attorney and CPA are part of the cost.
- Health, family and the job can change over 50 years. The plan has no slack for long gaps in savings.
Year by year
Show all 51 years
| Age | Houses | Paid off | Debt | Debt, today's $ | Net rent | Net rent, today's $ | Phase |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 35 | 1 | 0 | $75,000 | $75,000 | $0 | $0 | Launch |
| 36 | 2 | 0 | $151,592 | $147,177 | $7,787 | $7,560 | Launch |
| 37 | 3 | 0 | $229,770 | $216,580 | $16,041 | $15,120 | Launch |
| 38 | 4 | 0 | $309,526 | $283,260 | $24,783 | $22,680 | Launch |
| 39 | 4 | 0 | $306,431 | $272,260 | $34,035 | $30,240 | Launch |
| 40 | 5 | 0 | $390,033 | $336,446 | $35,056 | $30,240 | Build |
| 41 | 6 | 0 | $475,211 | $397,982 | $45,135 | $37,800 | Build |
| 42 | 7 | 0 | $561,939 | $456,908 | $55,787 | $45,360 | Build |
| 43 | 8 | 0 | $650,182 | $513,260 | $67,037 | $52,920 | Build |
| 44 | 9 | 0 | $739,898 | $567,070 | $78,913 | $60,480 | Build |
| 45 | 10 | 0 | $831,037 | $618,370 | $91,440 | $68,040 | Build |
| 46 | 12 | 0 | $1,027,357 | $742,185 | $104,648 | $75,600 | Build |
| 47 | 13 | 0 | $1,120,331 | $785,778 | $129,345 | $90,720 | Build |
| 48 | 14 | 0 | $1,214,494 | $827,011 | $144,327 | $98,280 | Build |
| 49 | 16 | 0 | $1,423,194 | $940,899 | $160,092 | $105,840 | Build |
| 50 | 17 | 0 | $1,518,487 | $974,659 | $188,452 | $120,960 | Build |
| 51 | 19 | 0 | $1,734,915 | $1,081,142 | $206,237 | $128,520 | Build |
| 52 | 20 | 0 | $1,830,619 | $1,107,555 | $237,415 | $143,640 | Build |
| 53 | 23 | 0 | $2,182,075 | $1,281,739 | $257,408 | $151,200 | Build |
| 54 | 25 | 0 | $2,407,739 | $1,373,100 | $304,900 | $173,880 | Build |
| 55 | 27 | 0 | $2,636,052 | $1,459,518 | $341,355 | $189,000 | Build |
| 56 | 29 | 0 | $2,866,754 | $1,541,022 | $379,723 | $204,120 | Build |
| 57 | 32 | 0 | $3,243,258 | $1,692,632 | $420,087 | $219,240 | Build |
| 58 | 36 | 0 | $3,772,651 | $1,911,571 | $477,450 | $241,920 | Build |
| 59 | 39 | 0 | $4,157,275 | $2,045,104 | $553,245 | $272,160 | Build |
| 60 | 44 | 0 | $4,859,910 | $2,321,120 | $617,329 | $294,840 | Scale |
| 61 | 49 | 0 | $5,572,781 | $2,584,069 | $717,369 | $332,640 | Scale |
| 62 | 54 | 0 | $6,295,299 | $2,834,075 | $822,854 | $370,440 | Scale |
| 63 | 60 | 0 | $7,198,378 | $3,146,244 | $934,024 | $408,240 | Scale |
| 64 | 67 | 0 | $8,290,101 | $3,517,874 | $1,068,938 | $453,600 | Scale |
| 65 | 73 | 1 | $9,214,608 | $3,796,296 | $1,229,457 | $506,520 | Scale |
| 66 | 81 | 2 | $10,530,583 | $4,212,098 | $1,379,744 | $551,880 | Scale |
| 67 | 88 | 3 | $11,677,552 | $4,534,826 | $1,576,878 | $612,360 | Scale |
| 68 | 96 | 4 | $13,042,831 | $4,917,490 | $1,764,546 | $665,280 | Scale |
| 69 | 104 | 4 | $14,431,127 | $5,282,440 | $1,982,708 | $725,760 | Scale |
| 70 | 113 | 5 | $16,045,240 | $5,702,212 | $2,212,371 | $786,240 | Scale |
| 71 | 122 | 6 | $17,684,574 | $6,101,751 | $2,475,941 | $854,280 | Scale |
| 72 | 122 | 20 | $16,529,354 | $5,537,052 | $2,753,334 | $922,320 | Kill the debt |
| 73 | 122 | 31 | $15,259,507 | $4,962,791 | $2,835,934 | $922,320 | Kill the debt |
| 74 | 122 | 41 | $13,842,629 | $4,370,859 | $2,921,012 | $922,320 | Kill the debt |
| 75 | 122 | 53 | $12,270,562 | $3,761,625 | $3,008,643 | $922,320 | Kill the debt |
| 76 | 122 | 63 | $10,525,246 | $3,132,608 | $3,098,902 | $922,320 | Kill the debt |
| 77 | 122 | 75 | $8,596,336 | $2,483,991 | $3,191,869 | $922,320 | Kill the debt |
| 78 | 122 | 87 | $6,470,863 | $1,815,355 | $3,287,625 | $922,320 | Kill the debt |
| 79 | 122 | 99 | $4,134,112 | $1,126,015 | $3,386,254 | $922,320 | Kill the debt |
| 80 | 122 | 112 | $1,570,333 | $415,257 | $3,487,841 | $922,320 | Kill the debt |
| 81 | 125 | 125 | $0 | $0 | $3,592,477 | $922,320 | Harvest |
| 82 | 132 | 132 | $0 | $0 | $3,791,241 | $945,000 | Harvest |
| 83 | 139 | 139 | $0 | $0 | $4,123,657 | $997,920 | Harvest |
| 84 | 147 | 147 | $0 | $0 | $4,472,606 | $1,050,840 | Harvest |
| 85 | 155 | 155 | $0 | $0 | $4,871,922 | $1,111,320 | Harvest |
Sources
- Freddie Mac: Primary Mortgage Market Survey (30-year rate 7.28% on 1 October 2026) freddiemac.com
- Fannie Mae Selling Guide: Multiple financed properties (limit of ten) selling-guide.fanniemae.com
- Bankrate: Investment property and rental-income loan rates bankrate.com
- IRS Publication 527: Residential rental property irs.gov
- IRS Publication 946: How to depreciate property irs.gov
- IRS: Like-kind exchanges, real estate tax tips irs.gov
Hypothetical, not guaranteed. A fictional person and a simplified model. No company, lender or product is named or recommended. Not an offer, and not tax, legal or investment advice.