When doing a 1031 the IRS does not care how much gain you have.  

Can you explain it - sure but the IRS has a pattern of saying "I don't care".the best way to do this would be to rehab out of pocket. 

Of course I recognize the humor in that statement, (a hard money lender talking about good reputations) but I actually do have a good reputation and am careful to recommend only people I trust. 

They won't care you used your cash to pay down another loan.I will invest the cash you have and the cash flow from your properties in something safe (hopefully you can get ~1% interest) while you wait for your next deal.

I'd think those area may be more apt to go for that concept? 

Go to college, it’s not required to be a real estate investor but you will learn fundamental business concepts that will be invaluable for your future.

I'm not trying to guess which area you fit into, I don't particularly care.

Some urgent matters came up that I had to take care of but I'm back in the saddle again. :-) Thank you all for the advice.

If not I would be careful about including it in your numbers.

If the wind blows heavily, I used to live in Houston and now in Colorado-both high wind areas, it can easily peel at least several courses off.Low wage workers, and let's face it roofers are relatively low wage, are NOT CAREFUL in their work habits.