Look at their reserves, unpaid assessments,  and for signs of deferred maintenance on major items (roof, parking lot, siding, etc.)

We added deal by doing some of the work ourselves, finishing an attic to get another bedroom, renting the garage separately, and generally fixing alot of deferred maintenance.

In both cases you must do a 1031 exchange in order to defer the capital gain tax and depreciation recapture.

Short term = depressed rents, deferred maintenance, vacancies and violations.  

I’ve got a house in AL that I own outright no mortgage and have to now wait until I can refinance on it (deferred financing route ended up not working -not able to loan low enough).So the question is..should I create an LLC in Alabama and quit claim the title from me to the new LLC?

Basically, the better shape it's in when you rent it, and more on top of maintenance calls out you are (never defer maintenance), the lower your costs will be in the long run. 

Is it worth it to take the hit on this in order to have to time and breathing room outside of 1031 or would it be better to defer and use 1031 in this case?

Property has very little deferred maintenance.

Broker says no deferred maintenance.

My concern is the amount of interest you pay over the life of the loan so it is almost like deferred capital instead of gained capital.