My father would be willing to help us out in basically any way that he could, in exchange for modest monthly payments going forward, and is content limiting his capital gains exposure with the owner financing. 

But a lender will only go so far on the risk spectrum in exchange for a 4% to 6% return.  

It's possible it might not be a big deal if you'll keep doing 1031 exchanges but I always want to mention it as the "what-if" scenario if you get what I mean.

I performed a 1031 exchange last November 2023.

I will probably sell it after this couple moves out in 2 years to do 1031 exchange.

Security deposit amountYou can find plenty of examples by searching for "tenant estoppel certificate doc" or exchanging "doc" with "pdf" for more options.Here is an example and explanation: Sample EstoppelSome have a lot of legal jargon but this document does not need to be so detailed.

While you may get a 199A deduction, you are paying a high tax rate.If we are talking about REIT's listed on an exchange, there are additional overhead costs as you mentioned - You have to get audited financial statements and also comply with certain SEC laws.

@Sarah Minor, You'll receive that money at the end of your exchange. 

We'll see you in a bit on the 1031 exchange side of things. 

My recommendation, house hack, then move on, and then consider selling with a 1031 Exchange, take out HELOCs, etc. to build the portfolio.