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?

Taxes is far easier and all that tracking we do is much more accurate and you really only need to check the uncategorized items every so often, of which there are not many after you get to use it more.The point is, it’s easier than it’s ever been but you only get to see that after paying a little and making it part of your habits.

Often times, for one reason or another, they don't want to deal with the inspection process most traditional lenders will require.

@Steve Hall The seller financing appeals to us because it would allow us to purchase with less than the 20% down of a traditional mortgage.

If rental income is just another line item on the calculation then I think I can come up with the number.The next related question is what overall DTI does a typical underwriter require for a loan on an investment property or does it even matter if the property is rented and I have a signed lease?