Increase Your Cost Basis: Document and include the costs of significant improvements made to the property in your cost basis.

We’ve faced similar challenges with larger homes, as most traveling healthcare professionals tend to travel alone or with one other person.

Hey Dave, since I have mortgages on these properties, would it make sense to bring cash to the exchange to cover the mortgage amount (or pay off the mortgage before doing the 1031) and improve the cash flow for the newly acquired property?

You may be able to factor in certain improvements to your personal residence so when you do move out, you can be eligible to depreciate it.

Challenges?

Just to clarify my previous post, I would like to say that while I've experienced challenges with mngt, RTR/Rent to Retirement has been extremely helpful in navigating this situation so I know what my options are and so I don't feel alone in this process.

[crawling into my office closet while alternating between sobbing and laughing]  Haha it's actually such a big improvement!

I am not going to do any improvements to the land, just improvements on paper etc.

Since I enjoy the management and improvements and tools and growing a business, I chose to acquire my own properties.As for whether syndication is the "best way" ... it's totally whether the syndicator is good or not. 

The IRS has said, since 2017, that the improvement ratio or $ value is what your taxes are assessed as, unless you have a really compelling reason to use a different value.