I prefer an assignment @William Causey as it keeps me off the chain of title and any issue(s) that go with being in the chain, as well as any additional expenses related to a doublel close.

@Chris Kay beleive you can do DSR loans without a job as they qualify the property, not the borrower.You'd still need 20-25% down though.That's where you have a decision:- Pay down the mortgage, setting yourself up for a future refinance to free up your VA Entitlement.OR- Save up for your next acquisition.Only YOU can make that decision as you have to be comfortable with the increasing debt-load risk and the additional time to manage everything.

It would be best to schedule a call so that these items could be discussed in more detail and provide answers to any additional questions you might have. 

Additionally, don’t overlook the opportunity cost of pulling money from your 401k—those funds could have been compounding in the market.I’d also suggest stress testing your ROI by running scenarios with higher expenses or lower rents to see how resilient the investment is.

You can evaluate the additional cost and payback time as if you were paying for heat to get a handle on it but the jump to most efficient is probably not worth it in your situation.

These are professionals with additional training and a stricter code of ethics.

Additionally, if the market conditions improve, you might have a better opportunity to refinance at a more favorable rate.5.

Working as a property manager gives you such valuable insight into the market, tenant relationships, and property operations—it’s a fantastic foundation to build on.What kind of investing are you thinking about starting with?

Maybe you could extend the closings with some additional earnest money (even if you release it) and buy the time so you can simply do a regular 1031 exchange.  

Since it's trust ownership, there are some additional benefits.