This is why the DST, TIC or a stand alone NNN property of your own make sense combined with the 1031.And while you're absolutely right to look deep at the actual costs and fees both entering and exiting a DST or a TIC project you can find cost effective quality returns that will rival or beat the stock market average - especially if you factor in tax savings and ongoing depreciation.The age old question on pay the tax now or pay the tax later can best be put into perspective running numbers. 

All of these factors will help you understand what criteria are feasible while reaching your goals.

Other thing is that my parents have 'helped' them out in various ways whether that was with down payments on their homes, housing without rents, etc so those are other factors in this consideration.

One of the deciding factors is will I have to pay 20%-25% in property taxes if I roll the profits into a new multi-family property? 

For simple stuff like Podio design and skiptracing, I've used upwork.com. 

Hi, I recently built a small studio duplex designed to cater to short term traveling medical personnel in my area.  

However, once you factor in utilities, repairs, capex, and management, your cashflow would be little if anything at all.That's a crapton of money to be putting to work in order to get no cash flow.

I'm working on building a website and designing business cards, but in the meantime I thought I would drive around the neighborhood just to scout it out. 

Just factor it into the deal when you run your numbers.

Also factor in the value of sleeping well at night and avoiding the constant desire to stab your monitor with a pencil.