If one is seen in the house then there is somewhere where they have gained access to the house and you will need to address these and repair.

Is it possible that I could do a 1031 exchange by selling both homes, use the proceeds from both sales toward the purchase of a new home, and defer the recognition of capital gains and related federal income tax liability on the exchange?

I want to get more of an understanding and more hands on so I am looking for potential landlords and gain some insight and knowledge!

Hello,Firstly, thank you to any one that takes the time to respond to this forum. I'm still in the beginning phase of my career and want to learn as much as possible before I take on my first property.My first concern...

Education will be your biggest gain from your initial deal.

As you already know, there is a lot to be gained from hanging around folks here.

I would work on it for the next few months and then list it so that it will close after you have owned it for one year or more.If you sell it after owning it for less than a year you will pay the higher short term capitol gains instead of the long term capitol gains.Listing it on the mls, with an open listing will get you the most exposure and best price. 

In less than two months I had a fully renovated and rented property, was in a position to refinance, and had gained valuable experience for the future (knowing how much things cost, knowing how much time it takes to complete a rehab task).In regards to management, it is definitely true that managing 2-3 tenants is more work than just 1, so it's really dependent on how much time you have and how you value your time.

Then I want to move my stuff over to the inherited tenants side (as it’s the nicer unit).Unfortunately the inherited tenants have 4 larger dogs, a guinea pig, and two cats (one of which they adopted a week before closing).

If you figure out the funding on your end and pay him in full for all of his properties, he'll pay capital gains on all profits.