Sell my building for 700k and 1031 or keep

[David Lant]

I own a two family in The Hudson Valley. Purchased for 240k with 60k renovations around 7 years ago. One of my tenants wants to buy for 700k. I don’t have mortgage on it. 
it pulls in $4250 a month rent from both units. 
I’m recently divorced and need to secure a monthly income to free me up to concentrate on finding deals. 
I'm thinking of selling and doing a 1031 on a 1 million dollar building then waiting a year and doing a refi to pull the money back out to buy several STR.

Is this a crazy idea? 

[Logan McKay Zylstra]

I would put it on the open market, in this housing market, you could probably get more than you think.

Second, I would 1031 into a bit bigger than a 1 million dollar property. If you put 25% you could get something at 2.8 million (or at 50% you could get a $1.4 million dollar property), thus securing a higher monthly income.

Last, the points (cost to originate these loans) you would pay to do a refinance only a year after wouldn't make sense to me. I would use a HELOC instead. That way you can buy your STRs when you find good deals, rather than being eager to buy once you have the money from the refi.