Does it need to be completed before end of the year to use it when I do taxes in April 2025? 

We still owe roughly $900K on a 3% mortgage.We’re planning to retire abroad and are weighing two options:1.Sell the home – I already have a buyer lined up, so this would be a straightforward exit.2.Rent it out long-term (furnished) – While I don’t think the rent will fully cover the mortgage, it might come close.

Whether we agree with these items or not, the following are inflationary government policies: stimulus, student debt relief, tariffs, increased child tax credits, limited immigration, and big government deficit spending.

We keep good books, have legitimate and good tax returns and can show tangible real income on these units.

I know California is still famous for clawing back the taxes owed eventually on a 1031, I don’t know if they are the only state that does it.

The way I'm looking at it, if my spouse and I only do employer matching for the 10 years we would have more than enough in there and still 10 years out from being able to access it.I do plan on doing 401k loans for deals if the numbers check out, and I've considered rolling over some of our 401ks into roth IRAs to access our contributions but we'd have to pay taxes out of pocket (a big hit to cash flow) and we couldn't touch it for 5 years.  

It is better suited to someone who loves Costa Rica and would like a property that they can spend a few months a year at if they would like and still cash flow after all maintenance and utilities and taxes.  

something that seems to surprise new investors is that transacting real estate is expensive.in Pittsburgh transfer taxes are 5%, usually split between buyer and seller. 

States like CA, NY, CT, NJ, MD are notorious for high sale price homes, higher taxes and hard to cash flow.

They don't all offer the same servicers (default management, document services, tracking of taxes and insurance, escrows, etc.), but I am with you that communication and competency are key.