Of course, if it turns out it's a great  rental and you don't need the cash, just hold it as a rental even longer, skip the 121 exemption and use the 1031 whenever you're ready to sell.If it sounds complicated, it sort of is, and you must have a Qualified Intermediary on your team prior to selling your property in order for the 1031 to be valid, so the first step would be finding a trustworthy CPA and QI to make sure all your tax docs are in order.

I also don't put an enormous amount of time into maintaining the site. 

The $650 local site visit and eval I don't think is a bad thing as this confirms that it's a good deal.  

Unfortunately too complicated to put in a post. 

We are an information site, but do not lend.

It's not really that complicated to buy out of state.

Great that you joined the site!

For the Average buyer this would have been disaster.. we simply built a new construction on it and did OK.. but this full blown rehab can be a real challenge for many .. its one thing to replace kitchen baths paint carpet roof.but when it comes to structural or these really old houses you get from Charleston north into New England.. etc its far more complicated and risky.

You'd have to PM me or go to my profile for my site.

This site is great to read up on and build your knowledge.