That said, even small scale landlording won't be entirely passive, for example, if you live there and self manage..

Even if OPEC decides today to scale back production it would take many months for the existing supply glut to rebalance and another 6 months to restart the wells and find the necessary personnel to oversee them bare minimum.Lot rents are going to go down more before they come back up, and playing a timing game can make or break you.  

He should be hitting economy of scale by now, so his buying power is about to explode if he is doing things right.A handful of years ago, a guy in my area pulled some investor capital and bought a bunch of houses while paying them 8-10% interest only, BRRR till he paid them off and upgraded bank financing.

However; we can get the grading permit in about 3, so that allows us to start work. 

Being in Wisconsin, in the winter I can't do much in the way of grading and painting, so those would have to wait.

The thing I am looking for is something that can give me an idea how much a contractor grade sq ft of tile would be, etc.

You will need to purchase their ANSI grade 1 locks (not sold in stores) if you want that added protection. 

It's the graduated scale and that income is just combined with all your other income for one tax bill.The key words here are "30 years". 

If you suspect a challenge, maybe have a appliance repair bid and your move in checklist ready.....Finally, you may have higher end rentals than me, but I go with very plain white, mid grade, most durable appliances I can find....

If so, then paying a QI $1k - $2k to handle the exchange is probably worthwhile, instead of paying the IRS $20k or so.The type or grade of property does not matter, so long as it is real property that you intent to use in your trade or business or for investment.Keep in mind, to defer all taxes, the new property has to be greater in value than what you are selling, and you must spend all of the cash proceeds.Good luck!