I am still working full time and can let my full rental income take care of debt since my wife and I make good incomes ourselves.  

Scaling your real estate investments requires careful planning and a strong foundation.

You can try MyInvestorLoan.com, they usually don’t care if a property has a seller carry portion of financing in 2nd position. 

And of course, most homes have HOA's (homeowners associations) that can be $20-$250/month to pay for community maintenance, sometimes lawn care, cable/internet, amenity upkeep, pool, security etc. 

Investing now may be worth it, as interest rate cuts in 2025 may increase competition and prices.

When the time comes to evict our first tenant, I will hire the best lawyer and let the expert take care of it.

Take Care,

Take your time to carefully review all aspects of the transaction, and make sure you’re fully informed before moving forward.

Furthermore  once the 1031 intermediary get their cut and you also pay two sets of closing costs ( buyers now have to pay closing costs in some states ) as opposed to just one closing cost ( if not doing the 1031) it might be a “half a dozen vs 6 of the other “ scenario .Also one of the turn offs to the 1031 exchange is the interest rate will be much higher with todays rates especially since we would have to get an investment property loan which are higher than “ primary residence “ loans ..Will probably lower the rent asap ( have one more showing ) and then put it on the market .Thanks for the great advice Christian 

Add to that insurance costs, etc. and it's not looking good.However; what Trump can do that will help is to cut out some of the environmental regulations, etc. that drive the costs of development up.