I have had many successful projects but also had one bad deal which ruined everything for us. 

Not bad for all involved..

Things finally got so bad that I decided to list the property for sale in mid 2017 in an attempt to get what I could of my money back. 

Most are in Mpls or St Paul, but you will find some first-tier suburbs with large duplexes.  3-4 plexes are as common as a Vikings Super Bowl outside of the two cities.Within 45 minutes of MSP airport: This will be no problem, everything is within 45 minutes of the airport, especially in multifamily.Areas with a small town/ neighborhood feel are a big plus: South St Paul would have this feel so would Stillwater but that is probably more than 45 minutes from the airport with any level of traffic or bad weather.

I'm tired of fighting with these investors with these crazy bidding wars in my area.

It's a bad model sooner or later (usually sooner).

Ask them for a contractor, lender, title company etc.A good real estate agent should be able to point out good/bad things of properties you view.Good luck on your investing!

OTOH, if she bought it in 2006 at the height of the previous bubble, you may not be too bad off.1031 exchanges are for investments only, not your residence.

Not having a loan is better than having a bad one. 

If the mortgage was rejected, as I'm sure it will, I have to find new buyers in the middle of a market crash.I feel bad for the buyers, the flippers, but investing in NYC, things like this happens.