Property 2 (CA SFH $1.8M FMV, $300k basis, 1992-2020 primary residence, 2020-current rental, my elderly mother (WA resident) is sole owner)1031 to WA, rent 1 year before converting to primary (or more desirable 2ndary) residence.

The majority of buyers appreciate the expertise that a good agent provides (local market knowledge that can only be gained by being active in the market buying and selling all the time, looking at most of the new listings in person or at least online daily, a background in or at least understanding of building construction, relationships within the network of professionals in the industry doing deals, vendor referrals, legal protection through E&O insurance and keeping up with constant changes in approved contracts and required disclosures and forms, negotiating skills (the average person is terrible at negotiating directly and has no desire to, I find Americans are uniquely averse to negotiating and prefer to outsource it but I digress), etc.).

Your desire for control and liquidity are likely the two biggest assessments you need to make first, as this will start to narrow down your choices very quickly.

We just bought a house in a highly desired older neighborhood.The owner agreed to owner finance it with 5k down over 5 years at 0% interest.We did put some money into the house to fix it up some.The rental income will cover the payments.Always ask for owner financing, the answer might surprise you.Work with money partners to do more deals.Join your local Real Estate Club and learn new techniques and grow your network.

They are still insecure to those of us who know what they are doing & have a desire to steal bitcoins.

So even though rent went down value went up with more desirable tenant. 

Study financing, Study Wholesaling (if that is something you desire to attack), listen to Podcast.If your FICO is 640 ish, in 6 months you can be around 670-690 by aggressively paying down debt and getting a bit frugal for those months.

Ya know, I wonder how many reached out airing how upset they are with the situation, there strong desire for a different outcome, and asking how they can help to make that other outcome a reality????

STR regulations are getting increasingly punitive in many desirable places North America and this is probably going to get worse because of the shortage of long-term rentals and the increasing long-term rents.

Just make sure you try to househack in a desirable area where people will pay a high amount per bedroom.