There is no such absolute rule or mandate for REI - it is up to you on your comfort level with your cash flow versus total investment versus appreciation potential.If I followed that rule, I would have missed out on a LOT of great opportunities over the years.We bought a house in Jones Valley in 2017 with negative cash flow - why? 

the good news is that you're in the middle of a "masters" level education at this point.

Deviations from the Private Letter Rulings will significantly increase your risk of structuring this type of advanced 1031 exchange.You should discuss this more advanced 1031 Exchange structure in greater detail with your legal, tax and financial advisors to determine your comfort level with this complicated 1031 Exchange structure and the inherent risks involved.

I think the before vs after pictures really speak primarily to your experience and ability to execute a project so it can help lenders gain comfort with future projects and allow you demonstrate what level of detail you except out of your contractors.

Once you know who in your circle has $ to invest, you then need to understand their risk to reward level so you know what deals fit their bucket.

For example, you might agree to a 70/30 or 60/40 split, depending on his level of involvement.

I can send a million articles, but i encourage you to go to maricopa.gov in addition to the city websites where you will see all the development going on here at a micro level. 

Haven't been there, but pay attention to the foundation - if the floors are level there no action needed.

If you hire a PM, your financial account structure can be simpler.If you plan to continue purchasing rentals, I like some key accounts at the "management" level (income, opex, tax, owncp, reserve) and only have 1 checking account per property to prevent having 100 accounts and unnecessary complexity.

The lot is flat and level, so we only need a short gravel driveway.