@Steve Vaughan  agreed very slippery slope... we all hear about Hewlit and Packard starting in a garage with 15k of credit cards in the early days... and well look where they ended up.. so who knows.. but it sure is a gamble.

Short term rental is always a larger gamble with more headaches than a long term rental.

However, we were basically gambling on every transaction at this point in our career.

I person have chosen not to invest in Ward 1.  

IMHO,  whats important is to walk the property, otherwise, you are taking a vegas gamble with not being able to see the inside. 

Work with the lender you've chosen to be pre-approved for a mortgage.

Some clients have chosen to pay taxes on a portion of the 1031 proceeds so that they can use it for renovation costs.Work with someone who has a lot of experience dealing with 1031 exchanges.

Identify your target market - Research different locations based on your chosen strategy.

They do not answer their phones or emails and have chosen to keep the doors closed to the public after Covid.  

Every time a tenant moved out 3 out of 8 evictions or so, it felt like a gamble, with someone leaving the place in ruins.