Hello! I would like to get some advice regarding a condo that is in short sale. This townhouse is located in Montclair, NJ right next to Bay Station (a line that goes directly into NYC). It's a 3 bedroom 2.5 bath unit...

A friend who owns at least 130 rental houses and has done over 1200 deals in Houston freely admits that being a landlord is a pain in the ***. 

You will find that either your anticipated tax situation will likely not require as much help from a depreciation write off, or that your exposure now is not so bad that you can absorb the 140K or so in tax from a sale foregoing the 1031.If paying the tax now is too painful and you anticipate needing more depreciation write off in the future then 1031 and use the gain to purchase more property than you sold and take both the remaining 12 or so years on your current property basis and the additional depreciation you gain through purchasing up.

At $1.4 million that is a very different market than your normal "bread and butter" house and it would be wise to seek the advise of people who have experience in that niche. 

Some of what you are seeking might be found in this other thread:https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/52/topics/297010-pa-lawsAnd I suggest you look into DIG as well: http://digonline.org/

Although section 8 is pain, you know you will be receiving your money so that may be worth the hassle.

But seek out an attorney and find someone that can give you sound financial advice in real estate investing for you and you partners per investment.

I did it with H&R block for last year and didn't see what the saved number even was.My last mortgage was a real pain to get.

However they do administer the section 8 program in baltimore (HCVP)Section 8 is like just abut everything else in the city it can be a pain to deal with them.

Because having hundreds of people come through your house, especially if you have a kid or a pet that needs to be taken out each time can be a real pain in the but.