You can indefinitely defer the tax and use it to purchase nicer property/properties, as well as not have to recapture any depreciation.

It is also not an option to not renovate as she came with the house when I purchased it and absolutely trashed the place. 

I am currently in the market to purchase a tri-plex with the plan to live in one unit, make upgrades, and rent the other two out.

That should be your focus, not how to purchase the land.  

Purchased a little too high at the buy (I knew it at the time too), does a little better than breaking even on cashflow, and took too long to rehab.

While Treasuries are often viewed as "risk-free" investments, certain real estate deals in today’s market offer a compelling alternative—especially when purchased at a deep discount.Take, for example, a 1,000+ unit apartment complex in a suburb near Michigan.

The seller's LLC pays capital gains tax and depreciation recapture, while the buyer's LLC uses the purchase price as the new cost basis.

In order to defer all tax you must purchase at least as much real estate as you sold. 

So it was 153k for the purchase and 40k for the rehab, I had to come up with the rest. 

Makes complete sense to purchase a property that breaks even or loses money.