This path makes sense because buyers will feel they are getting actual value, possibly saving them money for an real inspector if there something grossly wrong with the house.

We are looking for a more cabin feel. 

If you feel you can do better, then it may be time to sell or 1031.It depends on what you plan to do with the money.

Because we're new to real estate investing and the real estate tax process, part of me feels like having a local CPA would bring a level of comfort knowing they are nearby to walk us through everything.  

@Andrew Steffens - See above@John Underwood - see above@Jay Thomas - yes... agree and have thought of future appreciation although the house is so big (5,000 ft2)that it will take me so many repairs bit by bit that I feel like it will get to be time to start Renovating back at the begin again by the time I get to the 'end' of the renovation. haha creative financing is indeed the only option at that point - but then leverage becomes a larger stress point than being mortgage free-ish and just cash flowing 'passively'. also to note is that my town just approved a giant tax bill increase and I already pay 12k a year *insert eye roll emoji* 

Attend your local REI meetups to build up a strong network and feel free to reach out and connect with everyone in the community.

Feel free to review and adjust the numbers to gain a better understanding of expected performance. 

I truly believe that networking is key to success in multi-family real estate—it's amazing how small the world can feel if you don't know where to connect!

I feel like a couple pieces are missing to scale my business.  

A vast majority of them have 100% equity which is a beautiful gate to seller finance which I feel will be the most profitable.