Either way: in your situation there is no reason to do a 1031 and the QI should have told you that.

Is there not even one (or two) reason to own it under LLC? 

However for some reason I decided to comb through the city oridinance out of boredom, and found that there's actually a code that states SFH's are to be registered/renewed annually at $25.

If you find an issue that you think makes her life not stable and it worries you enough that you think it will jeopardize the rent payment, that is a reason to not except her.

In some cases rooms will be blocked for other reason but that will give you a rough estimate. 

Maintenance requirements are not reasonable and are enforced (although inconsistently).

Like the roof, and anything else, ignoring maintenance will only increase expenses for later repairs.Spring and fall are great times to inspect the house, and while batteries for smoke detectors can be left to the renter, replacing those, or water filters, etc, are great reasons to inspect the property.

I'm biased, but I like investing in PG and Baltimore City - both areas where there is a lot of development activity and also still a lot of potential in my opinion, for different reasons in each area.

Is there a specific reason why your are aiming for the $260K range? 

Second, if you can afford to lose $30k by not suing, then you can afford a few thousand more on a reasonable attorney to get the process started and see if you can collect some of what is owed.