Yes their rates are steep, but that's hard $$$ for you.

Quote from @Edgar Duarte: hi allI would love to get some perspective from your expertise, we have a property that we would have to sell in 2025 to avoid paying taxes on the capital gains, we believe we rcan sell it for $700K and get an equity of almost $500K after paying the mortgage balance, if we invest all of it option in index funds at 7% rate (standard com growth calculator), or in more rental properties as we are all here for, I can get the equity of around $900K.option B would be keep paying the house at 2.3% int rate while we have it in AirBnB and maybe sell it in 10 years for $900K, knowing that we would be paying taxes but it is not that bad still. or we can 1031 at that point?

Im old school...my cpa is in the building next door and I like doing business face to face.

Especially combined with the high interest rates right now. 

Coupled with persistently high interest rates that may last for years, rising insurance premiums are inevitable, regardless of your property’s condition.

Owner-occupied commercial properties generally get better interest rates and terms when compared to pure investment properties. 

-How are you getting a 3.75% rate?  

If the answer is yes, then it's a no brainer to make minimum payments on your 2.8% interest rate mortgage, and use the funds that you would have paid extra to pay it down faster, to either invest in more real estate, the market, or anywhere else where you can get a ROI > 2.8%.If the answer is no, then feel free to aggressively pay it down as fast as possible, to become debt-free faster, and just have a large amount of money in savings or to splurge with.The bottom line is that your 2.8% mortgage is GOOD debt.

Focus on neighborhoods near employers or schools, and explore slightly outside Austin for more affordable options. 

.- Check the Off-Market Facebook Housing groups at your school.