A private lender can be any non-traditional lender.

Now my loan broker is saying that he can’t find an appraiser that will appraise the property because it’s unique in the sense that it’s 3 SFRs rather than a traditional 3 unit building.

Whereas if we were doing a traditional 1031 exchange where they became the solo owner of a new replacement property, I would not be able to participate as a co-owner and still receive the step-up.

When I was 25 I bought my first primary residence which was a small 2 bedroom condo in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, then once I moved out, I turned it into a rental.

I found a house that I want to buy as our new primary residence.  

Would like to make a move either way when the first selling peaks hits in 2016. Any advice is appreciated.

Elizabeth thank you very much that was very helpful to actually get some statistics of what investors are doing traditionally, but still remembering to keep in mind your market.

If you want "true" sales data, get your county data sets and do primary research. realtor.com is a web site owned by Move, Inc., which was acquired by News Corp.

I used to own a primary residence in San Ramon.

My main question is if it would be smarter to use the money I have saved up to purchase a primary residence here in Los Angeles so I am no longer throwing money away on rent, or if I should use that money to invest in a rental property some place like Atlanta, where I'm familiar with the market and is definitely more affordable.