Especially with the favorable tax incentives offered to buy and hold real estate vs the ordinary income tax you'll pay on private lending.A 1031 exchange would allow you to indefinitely defer all of the capital gains tax you would have to pay, and instead use it to purchase better performing property/properties.

Later I refinanced it with a VA IRRL for better cashflow.

If selling is on the table, a 1031 exchange could allow you to defer taxes and reinvest in properties with better cash flow or lower maintenance needs.Since repairs are mostly handled, it might be worth reviewing your rents to see if there’s room to increases/ways to improve cash flow.

We would get a better conventional loan rate on a new primary (vs investment property) and be able to put less than 20% down (if we wanted to).

Generational wealth starts with me and I'm on a journey to build a better financial future for my children. 

This would probably cost a little more in the beginning but the ROI is much better in my opinion.OR network with other investors who have connections to wholesalers in whatever market you are looking into and buy the properties from them. 

I'd want to know their rent projections, what needs to be done to hit those projections, and what could optionally be done to get even better numbers. 

Does anyone have any recommendations for a different and better PM company in the area? 

Is it better to be persistent and reach out once a day, or does that make me look desperate and encourage the seller to ask for even more?

This also leads owners to ASSUME simpler is better when it comes to management contracts.