The mortgage payment still has not changed 7 months later even though this was cancelled.

Sometimes occupants still live there and eviction is not easy, and I have even heard a story once that the yakuza are involved in the construction and real estate business and exorted money from buyers through occupants in these properties. 

Even then, $23K in closing costs seems hefty unless there's past due payments that need to be brought to current.

My biggest client today is a seller I didn’t even represent during his sale of a 24-unit building—he had another agent.

And while a 1031 exchange isn’t an option, some people explore alternatives like installment sales to spread out taxes or even tweaking the investment structure so your returns are treated as interest instead of equity.There are definitely some creative strategies out there. 

Look into meetups through BiggerPockets, local REIA (Real Estate Investors Association) groups, or even events in nearby Seattle.

Quote from @Paige Seeley: @Jay Hurst even with 20% down, what non conventional options are you talking about? 

Multi-family for me has been the way to go and has left me assurance that even during vacancy, I will be covering most of my mortgage. 

I'm sure the topic will be raised this evening at the meeting.

now it's rented out, and you're breaking even each month in rent.