Please consult with an attorney that is familiar with 1031 exchanges.If you move into the farm after two years and later sell it, capital gains will be prorated based on investment vs. primary residence use, limiting your Section 121 exclusion ($250K single / $500K married).

I have three single family rentals for three years and I now have my first horror story.

Lenders often require 30-40% down.Cash flow considerations – Since all expenses must be paid from your IRA, maintain liquidity to cover unexpected costs like repairs and vacancies.Rental properties vs. commercial deals – Residential rentals and commercial properties can both be great options, but keep in mind management complexity and income stability.Generally speaking, stay compliant – Avoid prohibited transactions, such as personally guaranteeing a loan, living in or personally managing a property, or transacting with disqualified persons (yourself, spouse, ascendants, or descendants).Diversify your portfolio – While syndications and real estate are great, consider mixing in other alternative assets like private lending, tax liens, or even notes for additional risk management.Work with the right custodian – Make sure your SDIRA custodian is well-versed in alternative investments and has experience handling syndications and non-recourse financing.If you’re looking for specific lenders who offer non-recourse loans, I’d be happy to point you in the right direction.

Thank you Eric.In addition to the rental properties, my wife and I have a paid off house, paid off car, and about $1.4m in retirement accounts, brokerages, and savings.We live in a HCOL area and our expenses are $9.5k per month even though we live pretty modestly.I set out initially to have real estate pay for at least some of my expenses in order to give me more freedom and financial security.Is your wife quitting too? 

We always check heating and cooling even if off season on a property.

I live in New York and majority of the inventory on Long Island is too expensive for even renting. 

I find trying to force affordable housing on the private sector just keeps deals from happening so even though these are feel good intentions by the jurisdiction and they get brownie points for them..

- Even though we structure it to be like a regular LTR as much as possible, ultimately this is still a partnership and the two sides have to have a certain level of trust/respect that's beyond a typical landlord/tenant relationship. - For the right people (landlord who wants hands-free ownership but achieve higher than normal LTR rate, and arbitrager who has the skills and extra bandwidth, AND has confidence in their own ability), I think this kind of arbitrage model is a win-win.I'll be operating in the Triangle area. 

and even if you aren't going to do an inspection, can you walk it with a couple contractors?

See the map below for where these zip codes are located.Note: The following charts only include properties in the above zip codes that generally match our property profile: single-family homes featuring 3-4 bedrooms, 2-3 bathrooms, 2-3 car garages, 1,100 to 2,400 square feet of living space, 1 or 2 stories, and lot sizes ranging from 3,000 to 6,000 square feet, built on or after 1985.Appreciation10-Year $/SF by Zip Code 2015-01-01 to 2024-12-31From the above charts, these zip codes appear to appreciate the fastest among our target areas (based on annualized growth rate)89032 (North Las Vegas), 11.0%89015 (Henderson), 10.4%89143 (Centennial Hills), 9.9%89031 (North Las Vegas), 9.8%89138 (Summerlin), 9.4%89141 (Blue Diamond, Southern Highlands), 9.4%89128 (Summerlin), 9.3%89123 (Silverado Ranch), 9.1%89129 (Northwest), 9.1%5-Year Pre-COVID $/SF by Zip Code 2015-01-01 to 2020-03-01The COVID market frenzy and the subsequent dramatic rate hikes significantly distorted price and rent trends.