I have read some books and articles online but haven’t actually done anything with it yet.

I am going to my local real estate investors club in a few weeks and I have also read some books and a few online articles.

As for me, I'm going to continue playing it safe, or as safe as possible these days. 

In fact, it is technically possible to defer taxation indefinitely if you play your cards right.I'm sure some much brighter minds than mine will pipe in on the thread at some point, so always defer to advice given by Qualified Intermediaries or other 1031 professionals.

Any suggestions whether it be online or other will be greatly appreciated.

Any suggestions whether it be online or other will be greatly appreciated.

Darren,You need to compute your tax 'basis', because yes you'll get the $250k (or $500k if you're married) but often some of the improvements and $ you've put into it will come into play if you're over the $250k. 

Join your local REIA and get access to other lenders, or join Illinois REIA online.

I can Look into it now and see if they file online records.

However, I still verify each transaction online manually on my checking account monthly, but it takes me only a few seconds to verify each mortgage or rent transaction on my computer.