But, once you do build some wealth and have a high income, you realize how much you can save/make by owning the right real estate - numbers that far exceed any cash flow you might make on a property. 

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.

At 6% I’ve only saved $360k, but you would have saved $720k, an extra $72k/yr.

We have a property management company in New Jersey where we make some of our best clients hundreds of thousands of dollars between helping them force appreciation, increase cash flow, finding them deals etc.

It’s a great way to grow faster.HELOC or Equity Tapping: If you have equity in another property, using a HELOC or cash-out refinance could help cover the down payment without affecting your DTI as much.Seller Financing or Creative Deals: Look for sellers willing to finance directly, which bypasses traditional mortgage qualification hurdles.Scaling quickly often involves combining strategies—play around with what works best for your goals.

When you add that: "The downpayment and closing costs would be one large hurdle"; I can't tell if you can only afford to do this once (thus tying up whatever you have saved) or multiple times.  

So the question becomes based on their individual and personal tax situation what is the estimated tax burden they'd save? 

Is a second mortgage (heloc) or cash out refinance a better idea?

Purchase price: $715,000 Cash invested: $297,000 Current Price: $830,000 (originally $950,000 on 4/13/2024, reduced by $120,000 in 6 months).

Instant equity just seems to save everyone in the deal.