But I learned many moons ago when your the face or the captain of the ship U get the glory when it goes good but when things start to go bad its how one handles these times that really dictates..

To evaluate Real esteate deals for creative financing, start by identifying seller motivations i.e. financial distress, desire for passive income, do they need a downpayment on their next house, etc  and property factors like equity or existing financing terms.

It is true that as much as it is tempting and desirable to focus on a hundred things at the same time, actually staying focused on a specific thing and trying to master it is a difficult skill.

Quote from @Frank Chin: @Matthew SpiegelSome years back, I used to go to the local building or planning departments, and get the information from the local offices directly.

My exit strategy is to sell off my multi-family rentals and exchange them for single family homes in desirable neighborhoods.   

ABNB and VRBO absolutely, but never felt the need to go with Booking.

I intend to go after them for everything I can.

If it is that, then just replace the old one with a new one you should be good to go. 

Personally I would rather finance it and keep the cash in hand to go buy more properties than pay the full amount out of pocket, regardless of the potential tax benefits.

You probably already know in your heart which direction you want to go and may be looking for some justification.