Nevertheless, you've now added some more context to the issue in that you've paid two separate Architects and have issues with the Town which is beyond the scope of this thread, nor could anyone else know this was occurring.

Saw value where no one else did.

But you have your health and your family....you can replace everything else.

While it is a goal for us to own investments in the market we currently live in (a growing market but expensive right now), maybe right now it makes more sense to look elsewhere for more cash flow.Or something else?

You may choose to invest in real estate directly by acquiring a property, or passively by investing through a syndication (or by being a lender to someone else.  2) pencil out the numbers to see if the math is in your favor for a Roth Conversion and real estate investment with a SDIRA.

Felt like I was speaking with a virtual assistant backed by AI.He estimated my re-roof would be half the size at double the rate quotes I got from everybody else... truly amateur hour for somebody that claimed to have done hundreds of these.I also was never able to find more than 5 property records tied to his name or to related LLCs.

@Bracken Bjorn The answer is in the local data...and the data might look differently to you than someone else...it's really about your goals, tolerance for risk, available resources, and personal preference...

My understanding is that in order for Investor A to use the 1031 exchange to defer taxes, he has to purchase replacement property and not use those sale proceeds for his other properties -- or quite frankly, anything else. 

Is there anything else I'm missing.

Get the AZ rental stabilized with a tenant before buying anything else.