Trying to save $$ so I can prepare emergency funds in case of any major repairs etc .

A second mortgage or HELOC might allow you to unlock some funds without losing the 3.25% rate.- I recommend avoiding condos. 

Now, Kiavi is telling me I need to bring $20,000 to the closing table** to make this work because they’re lending at 70% LTV.

But, if a cost-seg study is done on the old property, you can manage Sec. 1245 recapture tax by doing a study on the new property to confirm it has as much or more Sec. 1245 property.You cannot swap a fully depreciated gas station for a raw piece of land and avoid recapture - you must replace all the 1245 and 1250 property.3) OZ - Sure you can defer your capital gains for a few years into an OZ fund, but the magic of OZ investments is the ability to achieve tax-exempt growth after a 10-year holding period.

Yes you can use commission as sourced funds for down payment on a conventional loan.However some lenders have internal overlays that don't allow it.

I financed this property using down payment funds from 403B and a local commercial bank. 15% down from personal funds. 85% down from community commercial bank. 3yr balloon, 20yr amortization, 7% interest rate.

You have a 200k equity buffer, so you should be able to get closer to 130k from a LTV perspective - but will your rent amount cover that new loan?

3) Your $250k with 30% down => about $750k (you also need funds for closing costs, taxes, etc.)

Some private lenders will step in and fund.

A hard money or institutional lender my be anywhere from 65%-100% LTV.