In fact I'd guess you could probably structure a discount into your agreement just because of the logistics (no roofs, no foundations, no yards). 1031 isn't a terrible idea but you've got a few hurdles outside of costs - you're going to have to have some possible properties already identified as your window is small, you'll still have to manage the property unless you go through a PM, you'll lock up more/most of your principal since you're going 'bigger'.

I assume all your policies are giving you a discount for no claims.

I am new and feedback like this helps me tremendously.  

Few things for investment club (and this is good thing) :Sometimes there's secondary offering of Fund investment that one new LP can buy from other investor, for example investor ABC LP is selling his investment at XYZ Fund VII, lets say the par value is 100k, then you buy from him with 10% discount or 90k, so you buy asset literally with 10% discount.if you keep buying in secondary market hopefully your reward/risk is better as well.

Because you have options depending on the city and investing strategy you want to execute.If you're looking for tremendous appreciation, I would recommend buying in Columbus.

This is where they can offer further discounts for you on the project. 

However, if we pay in cash, they will offer a 7% discount.

@Richie Thomas - Athens and Meridianville/Hazel Green, in my opinion, are not similar at all.Athens has much more potential for growth and appreciation - as @Jeff Henderson said, the job growth near Athens is tremendous, and there is a lot of folks who work in Huntsville/Madison who commute from Athens due to the amount of house/land they can get there compared to the metro areas otherwise.  

Group insurance: Look for insurers offering discounts for insuring multiple rental properties or join a local landlord association to explore group insurance options.The key is to strike a balance between cost savings and maintaining adequate coverage to protect your quadplex investment.

Btw, commercial and investment real estate brokers are in a tremendous position to take advantage of the fact that many sellers want CASH.