Mortgage payments give you equity. Once you pay it off, you get title to building, and its full worth. If your tenants are paying enough to cover your mortgage

Mortgage payments give you equity. Once you pay it off, you get title to building, and its full worth. If your tenants are paying enough to cover your mortgage plus maintenance then after the mortgage is paid off (in 20-30 years), you can sell the building and not split the sale price with anyone. Now, you do lose out on the interest payments. On the other hand, access to more capital via a loan gives you access to a better ways of generating money, so you need to calculate the full expected future value. Just like if you buy the building with cash - no mortgage! - you have to factor in the effects of your lower liquidity. In any case, my point is that your earlier "basic scrutiny" omits some very important "super fundamental" details so cannot be used to reach the conclusion you think it did.