You can hedge your bets by taking out mortgages on a few of the properties.

@Bill Brandt, If I was only 250 years older I bet I could have got that included in the Declaration of Independence :)@Colby Shelhorse, The actual mechanism of the 1031 is that the adjusted basis of the old property is transferred to the new property by filing the form 8824 with your tax return after a 1031. 

Your best bet is to have someone take a look for you or to take a look yourself.

I think Joe Fairless' Best Ever Conference (coming up in late February) is your best bet.

@Stacy Preston As a realtor knowing real estate already I bet you already know tons and are ahead of the game.

If it was filed in the last few years or by the previous owner, you can bet the county records will have other such filings.

I'd also be willing to bet that the tenant laws in these other cities are more likely to favor landlords, compared with those in Illinois. 

We're becoming quite a popular tourist destination and I would like to invest in a condo that my husband and I would manage ourselves as locals, with the hope of one day having a beach condo paid for that we can move to when the kid is grown and we're retired, and then rent out our 3br home as a LTR for extra income.

You are essentially betting your family home that you will be successful and that nothing will go wrong in the flip.

Cozy or Smartmove are the most popular on BP....pass the cost to the applicants and have them pay direct