You'll pay tax on the difference but shelter the rest in your 1031.Selling one larger asset and buying several smaller ones in different geographies whether true turnkey or not is another option.  

I am a graduate of Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology as a Computer Engineer working from home as a NoSQL database developer although most of my career has been spent as an automation and systems engineer.I am a new player in the real estate game having started the marathon just 2 years ago when I attended a Guru real estate seminar.

Very true. 

When deal is too good to be true in foreclosure bidding.

Study (as said, really good tips there), from there figure out your game plan/business plan, then just start calling banks and talking to loan officers.  

I am thinking about upping the game and buying my first multi-family home later this year, probably in fall.

Final would be completing the application with the City of Redlands or perhaps in some cases San Bernardino County, pay the required fees to related agencies and then play the waiting game for approval and assignment of new APN number. 

Typically the LP will want you to have some skin in the game.

The whole point of a down payment is that you have serious skin in the game and won’t walk away if things don’t go smoothly.  

Create investing games and simulations.