With a 40-year mortgage, however, most of your payments go toward the interest, and almost nothing goes toward the principal balance.

It's a perfect excuse to divorce her before too late

When it comes to stocking your STR with essentials, balance is key.

Quote from @Sakib Khan: Hey everyone,I’ve been toying with the idea of jumping into the world of rental property investing, and I thought this would be the perfect place to ask for advice.

Perhaps we "buy" the house from them for the $328K balance to satisfy the lender and don't need a large down payment and then have a separate contract with them to pay $x per month until we've paid the full $172K amount.

“Perfect BRRRRs” are rare nowadays.

It is in a perfect location (off the square) in a very popular tourist town outside Austin, Texas. 

Also, explore creative financing options that might balance your partner’s limited credit/cash flow without putting all the risk on you.If you're attorney can't clearly articulate this, maybe it's time to find a new one.

Would the 9-year balloon concern you, knowing you'd need to refinance or pay off the balance at potentially higher market rates in the future?

Many likely have coverage for their mortgage balance or from many years ago.