Cash, and proximity to property.

Because I won't physically be in Austin most of the year, so it would ideally be in neighborhood with good schools to attract longer term tenants.

This past year has not been the best and really beat me down mentally and physically(car accidents are no fun!)

Some other things to think about is surrounding network such as other investors, friends, professional contacts such as handymen and proximity to where you live.

This has led to everything being visually/physically slanted inside of the apartment, I don't have any interest in going down to the foundation or studs to redo everything and have decided to just do what I can try to make it look better. 

My opinion is they really should have been upfront with the pending construction, or at least created a physical separation to ensure there was no physical impact to your leased space. 

If pursuing single family, Dawsonville's proximity to the lake could also provide vacation rental opportunities during times of low occupancy.

This makes it possible for individual investors to earn dividends from real estate investments—without having to buy, manage, or finance any properties themselves.Direct Real Estate:  A real estate investment where you are actually buying a physical asset that you (or a property manager) actually touches.   

I’ve had contractors get scary with me and act physically threatening because I failed to recognize this early enough.

Most QIs with a national footprint easily handle exchanges nationwide regardless of where they are physically located.  1031 is a federal statute and so is handled the same no matter where your property is located.