Then pay them a fee for finding the deal and pay them 8-10% of rents to manage the rental(s).

Quote from @Michael Overall: Good day, If an investor has 10 rentals and wanted to over time sell them and put the money tax free from a 1031 toward a large purchase is there a process to do that? 

Some are owned by my ROTH IRA and are making tax free cashflow.

So, in your considerations, I would park right there for a bit and determine how this would look for you.Since you have about 2.5 years to think about it before you would need to spring into action to take advantage of the rollover for tax advantages, maybe you try on a rental and see how it fits. 

I find condos/townhomes to be easier to manage out of state because the HOA handles a lot of the maintenance, just be aware of condo fees and find a place that is reasonable like $300-400/mo or less if you are lucky.

I have no problem paying a wholesale fee if there's plenty of margin for me. 

As someone mentioned, the only thing passive about real estate investing is the tax treatment. 

I also suspect inflation will drive continued migration to lower cost of living / lower tax states.  

In some cases interest paid on the HELOC can be tax deductible if the funds are used for home improvements.Best of luck from Fort Worth! 

Your problem will be them incurring capital gains taxes simply so you can get a commission.