A real-estate investor who has financed properties with both 15- and 30-year mortgages has an obvious favorite. Why he'd always pick the shorter one.

Courtesy of Steve Lewis

• Steve Lewis prefers to finance investment properties with a 15-year mortgage.
• The part-time real estate investor, who scaled up to three condos, is focused on building equity.
• With a 15-year mortgage, you sacrifice cash flow for building equity quicker.

Steve Lewis has experience with both 15- and 30-year mortgages — and if he buys more investment properties in the future...