Trading SFH rental for another investor-owned SFH

[Chris Prichard]

Has anybody done this? Within the next 9 months I need to cash out (need to tap the Coverdell--kid going to college) a rental house my IRA/kids' Coverdells own outright in the Avondale neighborhood of Birmingham near downtown. Am thinking of offering it for sale to the current tenants, but also wonder about working out a trade with an investor who holds property max ARV $200k in Trussville, Hoover, Vestavia, Mountain Brook, Oak Mountain School district--either fix and flip or current rental. My house is a 3/1 and can keep chugging along the way it is or, like many other houses on the block/neighborhood, can fetch a commanding bit more with bigger upgrades. It does need some foundation and exterior work (not quite FHA ready) that I planned on tackling before the end of 2019. But with a trade, maybe not? What should I be thinking vis a vis trading? Or is it better just to button it up and sell retail in a hot neighborhood like Avondale and go shopping for a different property with the proceeds and maybe a non recourse loan?