Hi Kevin,It looks like you have some money saved, that's fantastic.

They saved up money.

How we purchased our property: Combination of Savings, Personal Loan with interest from a family member (4% interest) and a cash loan from Wells at about 8%.

If the rate is reasonable then it may make sense to try to save fast to get to the 3.5% down payment on a double or triple - househacking may allow you to increase your savings rate and pay down that loan even faster.As for estimating costs, closing in NY factor at least 1% of the mortgage amount for tax, plus $1500-2000 for lawyer, title and fees, then the amount required by the bank for escrow will depend on the actual property taxes and insurance.

Thanks for the info.

https://www.mass.gov/info-details/accessory-dwelling-units-a...

The evidence will still stand, and there's enough info in this thread that ANYone can prove for themselves that it does. 

So if you do an exchange you are saving $100k in taxes today.

It’s nice you’re trying to save them money, but it limits your upside. 

Bigger Pockets is a great place to find a real estate tax accountant.A good real estate accountant can save you thousands of dollars by leveraging entity selection and formation, tax deductions, cost segregations, bonus depreciation and tax planning.I recommend finding an accountant who specializes in real estate taxation, business taxation, financial planning and tax planning.You may want to consider working with your accountant remotely to expand your options.I would also recommend looking for a accountant willing to work with you throughout the year.