I am in the middle of purchasing my 5th investment property in the United States. We have put 20% or more down on all of them, and they have appreciated significantly since purchase. Also, each one has decreased our debt to income ratio (due to positive cash flow), allowing me to always buy more - theoretically up to the Fannie/Freddy limit of 10.
It has been vaguely communicated to me over the years, that if I start accumulating a lot of rentals (more than 5, and more than $500k in total debt.), I should start considering jumbo loans. However, aside from the fact that a jumbo loan can be over the conforming limit (not something I've needed yet for a single property), I don't see any benefits to having all properties on a jumbo loan or looking into it at all until I've approached 10 properties. Am I missing something here? I typically pay about 1/2 - 3/4 point higher on a non-owner-occupied single family dwelling. Is the benefit that I might find a lower interest jumbo loan? Also, I understand it might be easier to just pay one mortgage. Though, isn't that also a major con/risk if I ever defaulted (that I'd lose all properties and not just one?)
Looking for pros/cons. When should I be considering jumbo loans if ever and why?