The cost of the new property covered the 1031 requirement of the value being equal or greater than the sale price of the joint property that was attributable to me (50%). - After closing as an individual buyer and completing all 1031 requirements (IMHO), I formed an LLC through my lawyer for the purpose of transferring the newly acquired property in there before I rented it out.

Find out what you want to rehab into (4 bedrooms 3 bath, or a 2/2, whatever), then find comparisons in the area for those attributes, and find out their values.

The portion of your homeowner's insurance attributable to the rental unit can be deducted.Building a basement apartment can provide valuable tax deductions if you rent it out.

I’ve got loans with 12-13 banks here - happy to connect you to somebody if you’re looking for a local lender.Who is your property manager? I

My property manager is on top of everything for me.

A way to account for the additional borrowing (or in this case effectively a cash gift towards down payment) is to attribute an interest rate to the $500k (or even an interest free loan over 30 years).

We would like to start building our portfolio with a long term rental, preferably a duplex, using a property manager. Is

A good realtor AND property manager (I prefer a PM who is also an investor as mentioned by @Dean Harris) will be so key in helping you with not only rental estimates but letting you know about the caliber of the surrounding neighbourhood.

Regarding your maintenance issues with your units, as your agent your property manager is responsible for reporting all issues to you and following your directions regarding repairs.

Talk to the property manager! I