Investors must understand the direction of the market before investing, which is a mistake a lot of new investors make.

I populate all my own mailing lists, which typically involve only motivated sellers (high equity, divorce, probate, foreclosure, tax foreclosure, etc.).

I'm still not understanding how you capitalized that.

With your sister involved and the opportunity to reinvest your portion of the proceeds, this feels like a solid option, especially if you’re in the early stages of building wealth.Congrats on tackling your first deal!

However, my future plans with REI involve transitioning my primary income from nursing to REI.

Prices there tend to be fairly high so make sure the financials make sense to you.If you're going the townhome route, make sure you fully understand the rules and regulations of that particular community.

I'm not sure I understand your question about transferring this 1031 to another property of yours.  

You need to understand the market, advertise to buyers, show it in the best light, know what to say and what not to say, be skilled at negotiation, understand contracts, and much more.If you don't know how valuable a good agent can be, it's because you've never used one, or they made it look easy because they are skilled. 

—half the battle is the mindset, and you’ve got that nailed.Start with the basics: understand your market, run the numbers, and don’t be afraid to ask questions.

(I understand this may just be a term you used, but if your agent is a Realtor, I would question their ability to handle your listing at this scale and price point).2.