Older rental close to city center or new construction on outskirts?

[Robert Steele]

This year I sold an older SFH rental (built 1979) I had with no deferred maintenance in Plano TX in order to 1031 exchange it for a similar sized new SFH rental in Melissa TX (built 2021). All cash buy. The older property was close to two major highways with loads of businesses, restaurants and amenities nearby and closer to the center of the DFW metroplex. The new property is in a growing city that is on the outskirts of the metroplex close to one major highway with limited businesses nearby. School districts are similar.

Why the swap? Maintenance. Despite keeping up with it, these older houses always spring up new problems. Not to mention the sewer pipes are cast iron and in this case was getting close to the end of their useful life (50 years). I already had to re-route the main sewer line once. I am retired and older now and don't want to deal with the hassle. Not only that but the newer house is much nicer and gets the same ROI. I should also point out my wife is a RE broker so transaction costs are negligible. We pay buyers agent 3% and then get paid 3% by the sellers agent on the other end.

Now I am thinking of doing it again next year. This time with an older SFH rental (built 1960) with no deferred maintenance in Richardson TX in order to 1031 exchange it for a brand new construction in Denton TX, all cash. On one hand I should probably just stay pat and pay for the maintenance. After all it's all about location, location, location, and I am giving up good central locations. On the other hand having new construction that I won't have to worry about for at least 10 years and can wait while the city expands around it sounds relaxing. Which would you choose?