I did not have Flood Insurance, foolishly thinking my hurricane policy would cover this type of hurricane related damage (learned my lesson) I'm looking at expensive repairs and possibly a home that my tenant can no longer stay in (they evacuated for the storm as did I) which would be a loss of rental income for the foreseeable future, on top of uninsured repairs.

They gave us just enough info to be interested then told us to hand over $300 for a future seat at a workshop class (which we did not).

Their mortgage payments will be paid directly to the lender each month in a timely matter, ensuring that our investment is secure and safe while protecting the seller future profits and paying down the principle putting more into the sellers pocket.Knowing that we are helping the sellers credit score and they won’t have to suffer as a result unable to make those payments.

simply look were you live in Milwaukee.. and look at all those great 30's and 40s houses on the north side of town you can buy for under 100k but it would cost 400k to rebuild them.. in those areas building new just wont happen until things change demographically and if it does not pencil for you doubt you can sell it to any one else.. so the smaller project maybe what you do.. then at some point in the future where economics catch's up.. you demo the small improvements and go vertical.

Dead space in attics, basements, breezeways and covered parking can be a boon to the bottom line on rents AND future sales.  

I am eager to take the next step and make some connections in my market and potentially gain mentors and future business partners in my area through meetups etc.

Do it the right way in the beginning to avoid problems in the future.

Our long term plan is REI in order to provide for the family and our kid's (currently 2 yo.) future education.

@Dave Foster great way to explain a reverse 1031 - it always seems to confuse people and this is a perfect way to lay it out, I may have to steal this two-step explanation in the future ;) Thanks for always adding value, even us ol' pros keep learning from you!

That way in the future if there are very difficult issues they may be able to assist.