Something simple can go a long way.

Understanding the terms, qualifications, and overall structure is crucial—after all, a loan is a loan, and knowing how to leverage it properly makes all the difference.As for Zillow, IMO, one should never use it for ARV.

If they gift it to you it's tax-free (as long as they're under the lifetime gift limit around 14 million) they may have to file a gift return though, but there won't be tax due. 

So if you are looking to hold long term, you must take that into consideration.

In that scenario - I would worry that our long term renters would not like that strangers are walking up their steps and entering the doorway 5ft from their front door every weekend. 

Market rents in this area for those size units are closer to $1,100 (a little more, actually).Previous owners owned these spaces for a very long time, so their taxes were low and those rents were manageable for them.

Therefore, you don't need to use a 1031 exchange; you can take as long as you wish to find and then buy another property.The only exception is if there is debt on a property, in which case there will be some UBIT (Unrelated Business Income Tax) implications.

I'm not a property casualty agent (was a long time ago - now just life/health).

This will obviously take more effort on your part but in the long run, the exercise will be a valuable lesson for future calculations.

Working with a mortgage broker that specializes in DSCR loans will help you find better rates and programs such as lower DSCR ratios such as a DSCR 1 ratio for better terms versus needing a 1.2 or 1.25 DSCR ratio (more on that below).