I suspected, (but cannot know), that "my" Realtor bought the property for himself as an investment, or alerted one of his preferred clients to the deal.Many thanks. 

But none of the buyers we had (and we knew what they were looking for) said they were interested, even though it matched their criteria as far as the town, purchase price, cost to build etc, saying it was a few blocks over from the side of town they prefer.

Without any sugar coating, can somebody who owns a handfull of multi family units (preferably at least 20 units) tell me the reality of my plan and if I am being WAY too naive with my plan?

In my opinion, you want to stay away from listing agents that prefer to work with unrepresented buyers, that can only be trouble.

It provides me more control (but thats personal preference).

Some might argue the insurance angle, and others prefer the LLC angle.  

We would prefer to keep these properties as they have excellent cash flow.Some have suggested to take out a loan, however this is troubling to me as we dont need the $$. 1031 exchange is an option, but finding another property is a problem.Does anyone know a good attorney/tax advisor in PA that has experience with large real estate holdings?

I prefer the 30 day TAW.

Retail also has its own characteristics and needs to be reinvented every decade or so to remain rentable and competitive.Industrial too is unique and has its own strengths (easier to manage) and cons (longer vacancies).Each type of commercial is going to require a different style and application of management.You should have a light understanding of the type of CRE you would like to own as you head into the market looking for deals.Personally, I prefer industrial because it's an easier asset to manage and I have a lifetime of experience working in this asset class.That said, and as mentioned earlier, if you head into the marketplace searching for a value add situation then you might want to keep your mind open to various types of commercial property.

I would prefer to buy the $150k as the downpayment is less.