Would it be better for me to use the 121 exclusion or use this for a 1031 exchange as a result since it has 1 year of seasoning and has been for the past year been used as an investment property?

I've developed a tremendous interest in real estate, thanks to BP, and I'm itching to get going. 

I thought what if I offered to pay him 20K for the property up front and in addition, I could work off the remaining balance by providing x amount of hours of labor over the next 2 landscaping seasons. 

@Roopali Bahal Before getting into the weeds of market and property analysis, you should develop your investment criteria. 

I decided its time to start talking to some people about what im doing. turns out a family member was a motivated seller , long story short I bought a 200m2 piece of land in Baja California with an amazing beach view. lots of development is happening.

Chicago is on a lake, so our city is a half circle with the center being downtown.  40 miles around the city is already developed so in the new construction boom before the crash we had hundreds of new communities being built on farmland 60 miles out. 

I am a N.Y. based nonprofit developer and would like to partner with an established firm.

Is there a "seasoning period"?

There is a 6 month seasoning period after the initial purchase to do a cash out on the increased value post rehab. 

Hello BP Community,As I have been researching developing markets lately, I have taken the time to immerse myself within my community that I live in to learn more about my immediate market.