You than assess which is best, take the tax hit or 1031.     

I would look into a 1031 exchange to avoid that huge Tax hit... 

It's all about where regulations hit, and in MN that's at city and county levels. 

I've been hit up by a couple of companies to do rental arbitrage so that they can do STR themselves - but I'm not sure how to properly vet them out and make sure they're legitimate.

While I dream all day of vacation property, you hit the nail on the head - buy a boat, and explore all the islands.

you obviously got hit by a spammer there are thousands of them trolling the Private lender pages looking for victims that are not familiar with how private lending works. 

My current tenant will be hitting her 90 day mark until her lease is up at the end of this month.

I'm looking forward to seeing you guys hit #1.

You area also going to get hit with 2.75 points and a 2 or 3 year prepayment penalty.My suggestion would be to take out a personal loan banks are offering personal loans now with no lien.

Newcomers and tourists worry about them all the time but in 170 years we’ve only had THREE category 3 hurricanes or greater hit Myrtle Beach.