A long-tenured landlord made some money in his role as a speculator, and currently has it invested as equity in the property. Which, yes, gives him a lower mort

A long-tenured landlord made some money in his role as a speculator, and currently has it invested as equity in the property. Which, yes, gives him a lower mortgage payment than you would face. This $X invested in the property is yielding him $Y in marginal cash flow per month. You can do that too, assuming you have $X, by paying extra towards your own mortgage. But do you want to? Depends on the value of $X and $Y; you may be better off buying index funds.