The economy is to blame but local politics have played a role in the demise of Arecibo as well.I'm not sure how long your most recent visit was or when you are planning your next trip, but I do hope you get a chance to view some of the other " non tourist" areas as you may be pleasantly surprised at the resurgence (albeit gradual) of some of the surrounding towns.I've been a resident here now for the past 4 years and I currently work as  a lender at a local mortgage bank and also am now getting more involved with RE investing here.

Take CREI for instance, 3-5 years ago nobody dared to think outside the SFR/seller-financing/wholesaling/flipper box, now multifamily is becoming everybody's gig.Thus, let us stay nimble, practice, learn, grow our network (PM me ;-) ) and expect to gradually change strategies as everything changes.

5) What I am trying to do is to gradually receive the funds, but I'm not sure how to accomplish that.6) I have heard a suggestion to do multiple 1031s and receive a certain amount of cash year, but that would be alot of work since I would have to buy 90% of my current assets, then the next year 80% of my current assets, etc.7) I don't really trust the TIC and/or DST (Delaware Statutory Trust) type properties, so I tend to think of this as the most likely resolution.8) Since some of these properties are triplexes, some would be classified as residential. 

Start to have a habit to pay all the bills on time, pay off all the debt gradually to build up your credit score back to 700’s.

When you sell them, there will be capital gain tax on the difference between what you paid for those shares originally and what they are worth now.You cannot avoid this tax, you can only spread it by converting gradually, as opposed to all at once.

I could be wrong, but less chance of deferred maintenance issues due to gradual water leaks in bathrooms in upstairs townhome style.I agree that 5 caps aren’t the best area, but if it’s a 5 cap and two units aren’t rented, that provides some immediate increase to income with a relatively low capital outlay.

It is our hope to gain financial independence by house hacking and by gradually building up a “real estate empire,” as we jokingly call it.

It is our hope to gain financial independence by house hacking and by gradually building up a “real estate empire,” as we jokingly call it.

Raise rents to the 2 BR rate of $755 ( I may use a gradual increase to make it hurt less)2.

I'm paraphrasing, but the lesson was that it is better to drop your price steep up-front, than to gradually go down by $2.5k-$5.0k increments.IIRC, the example given was a property listed at $170k.