@Jay Hinrichs how about one stop shopping at Costco.My other thought is that RE brokers should not cooperate with other brokers but sell their own listings for 3% and handle the financing.

(if you are a licensed GC or RE agent, this also can be counted towards experience) 

Thanks for your advicea nd I am going to re-make that list w/my additional duties I have done to add to the list :)Quote from @Drew Sygit: @Megan Jones many bosses are so busy with their own work, they fail to fully understand what their staff actually does!

Here’s my question: Should I use my w-2 income to pay down a lot of principal and re-try to obtain that HELOC?

If nothing else, and you decide to sell with a 1031, something to consider would be trying to time the sale towards the beginning of the calendar year so it gives you max time to potentially re-invest into something that will offset the gain, and/or strategize some additional tax savings. 

You must own at least 5% equity in the qualifying business.Working a W-2 job at construction company =/= RE PROOwning a construction company == possibly an RE ProQ3: Are you meeting time thresholds?

I'm new to RE rental investment.

If they see that youre generating cash for operations via a non-RE business activity, it could be an issue.

We keep some marketing going, and will re launch the new listings after the refi. 

For me, start with either the property who's lease expiry is furthest out in the future OR property that has seems like it will be easiest to manage.3) From what I have heard, rent has really moved upward in GVSC - I'd call a couple RE Agents or property managers that have rental listings in the area and tell them your situation / ask them to send you closed rental comps.