He practically kills himself finding the young man and bringing him out of the desert, triumphantly earning the respect of all his men for doing something they considered impossible.

living in central NJ, its near impossible.. above 300k, there are some ok houses, and above 400k, there are decent houses.. but we can't afford neither..

To get listings, brokers have to promise sales price estimates that are often impossible to rationalize.

It's impossible to answer in your case - because we don't know the size or condition of the existing home.

My only caveat to that in some locations it may be impossible to find any deals that make sense. 

Because it seems like it's impossible to find a good deal in my area.

Each month the water bill has increased with this month showing more than 10, 000 gallons of water used.This is impossible seeing as its me and I'm away working 12 to 14 hours, 5bdays a week.

My wife and I have high end stable jobs, so this is a tax and investment vehicle.159000 for two duplexes and two properties.

Home prices are very high (its nearly impossible to buy $100K or less homes here) and the cost of a mortgage is very close to what a home could rent for, so cash flow positive is off the table. 

But the 1031 would be into a passive vehicle designed to be out of sight out of mind and simply produce cash flow.