Cash flow is King, or is it..

[Wes Sherwood]

Hello BP community. I absolutely love these forums and have learned so much since joining  BP a few months ago. So firstly, thank you to all that post and help people like myself in their RE journey. I'm hoping to receive some feedback from y'all. 

My goal:

$1000 - $1500 monthly cash flow within 3-5 years.

I currently own to two SFH homes out of state. One is located in Spokane, WA and the other is just outside of Birmingham, AL. Both are currently rented and under Property Management. After all expenses (maintenance, CapX, PM fee's) they are breakeven properties.

There might be 90-100k in equity in Spokane property and 50-60k in the Birmingham property. (according to Zillow) 

I had Spokane's loan modified in 2013. Because of the modification, the agreement states if and when I sell the property the bank gets 25% of the proceeds. I'm hoping I can refinance into a new loan and not have that 25% hanging over my head? 

My ultimate plan is to 1031 both properties for SFH's in the Midwest (Oklahoma City and or Kansas City)
however, the appreciation rate has been really strong in Spokane these past few years, but is that reason enough to hold on to a property that is not cash flowing.

Can anyone make a good argument on why I should wait on doing a 1031 now vs later? Is Potential/speculated appreciation reason enough??

Thank you in advance for your feedback..