If they're not familiar then it's your chance to get your foot in the door by bringing 1031 education to them.It's been a few years since I checked but at one time NAR showed statistics that of all the transactions potentially qualifying for 1031 exchanges, only about 10% were actually handled that way. 

@Maria JeanetteHere are some of the downsides of putting real estate into a self directed IRA or 401k.No tax deductions: You can’t claim deductions for property taxes, mortgage interest, depreciation, repairs, improvements and other property-related expenses.Property expenses: All expenses, repairs, and maintenance costs must be paid with IRA or 401k funds.

We're getting our feet started in real estate and we'd love to have the chance to connect with our peers or someone who's just as interested in real estate!

In my case, I wasn’t sure my land qualified because it was essentially my back yard, but because it was always a separate lot from my house, I was able to still do it because raw land without improvements on it is always considered investment property.

I can make improvements that increase the value.

So adding one more unit to a duplex may deplete equity gain even if it improves cash flow over here. 

I hope you find some useful information and best of luck in improving your personal finances and starting your investing career. https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/25/topics/589...

Spoke to a HVAC contractor saying about 7k for HVAC work and 1K for electrician work total 8k but overall may improve tenant experience and maintenance charges to me but bit more price to put upfront

If you're refinancing to a business purpose loan that's totally fine, but chances are good you'll need a lease in place for the unit you were occupying so the lender feels confident that it's strictly going to be used as an investment property.

I improved the structure What was the outcome?