Pretty easy to make 2% or more when you're spending that kind of money.

Quote from @Shayan Sameer: Tapping into the equity is always great when it comes to recycling money quickly as you would a flip.

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.

You won’t make your money back.

Quote from @Michael Challenger: I would connect with local people at meetups, that might give you some contacts for private money.

I have been investing in real estate for well over twenty years and can tell you there are a lot of ways to make money in real estate. 

If you're planning to rehab properties for rental or flipping, a hard money lender might be the right fit.

This phrase "Are You Leaving Money On The Table" could mean that you may have missed out on money in a deal that was there for the asking.

I have a question and would really appreciate your input.I’ve done a couple of fix-and-flip projects in the past using hard money lenders, but I’ve noticed that their fees and interest rates significantly cut into my profits.

Which will also depend on the neighborhood.You want to, "rehab/maintain to the Neighborhood".Most investors go overboard on their first rehab and waste a decent amount of money.