Contributions into new entities after completion of a 1031 is a fairly common practice in the world of partnerships and mergers.  

I've always been very interested in REI and RE in general but my RE background is fairly limited.

Treated me fair and was done quickly

I'm fairly confident that stuff like this is atrocious to even a desperate pre-foreclosure home owner.

If there is ways you can add value through cosmetic work AND negotiate a price to but you in a good position with a fair amount of equity to begin with my opinion would be find another partner to front the remaining amount needed to put the down payment on a HML until property seasoned and then refinance into conventional through bank/credit union.

It's also going to be competitive (high priced) if you are looking in a fairly competitive area such as chicago.

We've lived in it for 3 years now, (have a 3 year old) and now I'm questioning my original strategy due to development in the area and because its appreciated fairly substantially while we've lived in it.

I think its fair to say I’ve been terrorized by insurance companies in NH.For the naysayers: Oil tanks replaced 3 years ago.

But it is fairly easy for someone to find out your ties to the LLC with just a little bit of digging.

I'm struggling to find a company that's licensed in Minneapolis that sees the return on giving fair pricing.