Selling Investment Property to Pay Down Primary Mortgage

[Samantha Springs]

BP! Would love some thoughts and opinions from the community. Here's the sitch:

I purchased a duplex in LA in 2020 with a sub-3% interest rate. I moved out of it and now operate it as a rental (one unit LTR, the other MTR). It cash flows a bit, nothing life changing.

I bought a second duplex in LA this year that I am currently house hacking (live in one unit, the other is LTR). I did a temporary rate buy down assuming rates would go down much quicker than they are, so the interest rate goes up to 6.1% next year (2025) and again to 7.1% in 2026. The mortgage payment is already high and my life circumstances have changed, making the payment even more of a stretch (not impossible, but definitely above the recommended percentage of take home pay).

I am considering selling the first property next year (which has about $200K in equity) to do a mortgage recast on the primary and get my payment to something more reasonable. I am hesitant because the first property is located where all the Olympics and World Cup activity will be in the coming years and the interest rate is so fantastic. But I also sometimes think owning only 1 property in LA would be less stressful and a more reasonable mortgage payment would improve my quality of life. I am not looking to build a real estate empire, just a few doors, and will probably only purchase out of state in the future.

What would you do? Are there other ways to reduce my mortgage that I am not aware of (besides refinancing)? What other factors should I be considering? Thanks for reading and any feedback.