Do you see much opportunity to boost rents or reduce utility costs?  

You don't necessarily have to wait  20 years before you see a boost in your net income.Keep in mind that rents are going up and property taxes are staying relatively flat.

Many times there is also an owner carry component that can be made to boost your noi as well.One other thought would be to package your 1031 with your brother and actually look for a 1.1 million asset or couple of assets that may fit your bill.  

So the moral is listen to Andy!

If he doesn't understand Title and Quit Claim deeds and the moral hazard financially, whoa this is what gives developers bad names.

Additionally it's extremely hard for me to trust any property managers, brokers & real estate agents out around in Boston because they aren't familiar with their own laws and rent out places that aren't even habitable or to state code ( for brokers/real estate agents not their responsibility but seriously, that's just morally wrong). 

Moral of the story is..... find good tenants!

I may be new to the game but I'm definitely not a spring chick; my morals are already set and some guru's advice does not change that just because they know more about operating in this space.

:DWe'll see how this turns out, but the moral of the story is to always bring up what you do.

You should boost your savings before you get started in real estate.