There is no mortgage, I now own the property free and clear. 

They only offer a Quit Claim Deed, seems like a big risk, no clear title. 

Couple that with the fact that you're getting hit with recapture when you sell whether you take the depreciation or not and it should be clear that you should take it.Alternatively you could not take it and file Form 3115 in the future to catch up on missed depreciation, but that'll cost you a pretty penny to have a professional fill it out for you and likely not be worth the difference from jumping a bracket unless it's a high value property and you'd pair that with accelerated depreciation which doesn't seem to be the case here. 

She made it pretty clear that they'd like to sell to a local person, not a big investor.

I'm able to push things to 1.7-2.0mil with some additional personal risk, does that clear up the waters a little, or is it "chump change" at this point and not worth the risk? 

Here is my current understanding on 2a - how to calculate the depreciatin of replacement properties.Realized gain for R = capital gain + depreciation = 168K.The total basis for property A & B are (225K+150K) + purchase cost let's say 8K - realized gain for R = 215KThe basis is splite proportionally between A & B - So A is 60% at 129K and B is at 86KWhat I am not clear now is how is the land value deducted from the basis - percentage (of land to purchase price) based or absolute land value based.   

Make saving, clearing debt and wealth growth your priority.

I offered to help family probate estate and clear lien, so that they could profit. 

Sorry I wasn't clear Jon.

Search the city of Cleveland's website Waste Collection and Disposal Department & you'll see that everything is very clearly spelled out.