My husband wants to sell a property (in his sole name) and purchase a new rental property using a 1031 exchange.

But here's a suggestion to answer your question:Focus on finding good deals for an experienced investor and then "sell" your deal in exchange for getting equity (or ownership) in the properties you find.By doing this, you do it with NO MONEY coming out of your pocket.You then rinse and repeat - until you have $50K cash or more in your bank account.

Can you use the money from a 10-31 tax exchange to pay off the loans on existing mortgages?

Essentially, I would be asking for a max loan of $1.5MM in exchange for a portfolio worth $2.7MM.

Send me a fiend request and we can exchange info there.Thank you for your help

I've done one 1031 exchange about 20 years ago and used an intermediary.

@James BlackYes, I had 2 long term rentals in UT sold making 100k each. 1031 exchanged into 4 more properties. 2 in Pigeon forge, TN area and 2 in Huntsville, AL.

Should an investor keep his rental properties or do a 1031 exchange to several Delaware Statutory Trusts (DST) ?

There's line of credits out there that are low percentages for this exact financial exchange, typically hard or private money people will help you with this. 

If you intend to hold onto the property, or are just inclined to do your rehabs correctly, get a unit that is properly sized for your ducting and sq footage.FHA HVAC equipment that is oversized for the installed ducting is prone to shorter life span due to short cycling and potential cracks in the heat exchanger since the ducting will not allow the proper amount of air to be moved across the exchanger.