Hi All, I am struggling with a question on whether to sell my primary residence or hold it as a rental in order to start investing and could use some insight from more experienced investors. 

Not sure how much more clarity you are looking for.If you want the opinion of a prestigious law firm, then you can follow the link below.https://www.skadden.com/insights/publications/2018/08/opportunity-zone-funds-offer-new-tax-incentive

Im not a seasoned expert, but not new either - my take is that you should lay out more info of what you are planning to do with the property and exactly how much lower it is than the surrounding area. 

Hello, I am a real estate agent in San Diego, I help a lot of investors with 1031's and it was recently brought to my attention that DST's and TIC's qualify for 1031 exchanges and I was curious to see if anyone had any insight as to how vet a good DST or TIC. 

The firm also heavily focused on 1031 exchange transactions which gave me a lot of insight to that part of the business as well. 

No deal in sight...its called underwater we as  wholesalers need equity to make a deaal happen.

To answer  your other question about the rent-ability, reach out to local experts, such folks as property managers, RE agents, local investors and get feedback from them.

I should note that I've seen quite a few useful resources listed on these forum responses and it has certainly provided some great insights into where to get started, which locations to consider, and other strategies to consider.

Any experts or those that have struggled initially can you please share your experience and advice on what I should do to get the ball rolling.

I would suggest getting to know the market and try to rent in the area you plan to invest in so you can better solidify yourself as a market expert.