We had inspections done and the few items that came up were handled.

No way you can structure a business plan, go over a system, and create a list of action items needed to accomplish your goal.

I know a lot of people would look at this as a little odd, however, I am looking to get my feet wet and figured if I find a good deal, finance it with hard money, take a loss for a hand full of years (due to typical high interest rates with hard money) and then get a traditional loan later, would you do it? 

If all of those units are under just 2 business that could potentially be a problem.I would also look at my properties and see what big capex items are coming up, and take care of them now or set some funds aside to take care of them soon.

What were the big rehab items you had to deal with and how long did the rehab take? 

A traditional refinance would likely be your best bet because even though the interest-rate would be higher there would be no mortgage insurance in your net cost would be slightly higher than what you’re paying  on the money now.  

After a few months with a property management company, they have made a few mistakes: - Forgot to resolve a broken item in the condo for the tenant, with no communication about the fix/progress for over 2 months- Miscommunicated rules of the lease to the tenantWe’ve also received feedback from our tenant that they aren’t very happy with the tenant-side service. 

As I understand it, you cannot 1031 into a traditional syndication because it violates the like-kind requirements, as your Relinquished Property is real property, and your new ownership interest in the syndication LLC is personal property.I've heard previously that the workaround here is to form a TIC or a DST to hold your 1031 interest, since this is treated as having an ownership in real estate interest in the eyes of the IRS.

That way you have access to your current equity and can strike on a deal as soon as you find it but you aren't paying down a new mortgage in a traditional sense. 

I’ve been listening and reading about Tom Wheelwright’s suggestion on cashing out on 401k/IRA and taking the penalties and investing it in real estate since new tax laws would be in favor of investors.With new tax laws (2017) and the many deductions (bonus depreciation and doing a Cost Segregation), would passive investors benefit by cashing out their previous employer's 401k or traditional IRA to invest in real estate?