Without 1031 you will pay taxes on the gain minuses expenses as regular income for this property. 

They try to gain knowledge through secondary sources like Zillow or Google Earth.

I agree with the zoning, especially pay attention to the allowed kitchen size.

Also, return on equity is another calculation you want to be making and paying attention to as you’re paying things down with amortization and as equity increases with appreciation. 

For a different situation where net gain on improvement dollars isn't the goal, I may have a different opinion.  

@Sonny Sach A good metric to pay attention to along with the IRR would be the Debt service coverage ratio and CoC returns especially if you’re leveraging equity with debt.

The idea of getting it Section 8 approved was brought to my attention.

Using the Bigger Pockets Calculators are a great way to gain exposure and practice to analyzing deals, looking at your income vs. expenses. 

So I am taking it that the main issue is the front-end load for a Delaware Statutory Trust meant to defray capital gains taxes before the time runs out? 

During the past several months, I have become highly interested in REI and have gained a wealth of knowledge by browsing this site, reading through forums, listening to podcasts, etc., and figured it is finally time that I jump in.