When you consider the 5 currencies, you will spend at least one of them to get another. 

I'm thinking about spending $xx,xxx to get into Big Dogs....do you think that is a good investment....and see what people say.   

They will do what they can to ensure they make money, not spend money.Most professional property mangers will not even manage a rental with a home warranty because of the delays and shoddy work done.

We spend a lot of time looking up properties in VRBO and AirBNB to see what other hosts are actually offering.3.

Does the builders typically have additional negotiation room ( the commission they would have otherwise paid the realtor), if a buyer directly approach the builder. ?

If I hold onto them I would like to get my cash out and look for additional properties.

Additionally, I plan to place signs on the inside of the door and panel explicitly stating that it's not to be used.

We do take advantage of deductions- maxing out both 401ks, HSAs in 2023 and itemizing deductions and will do so in 2024 - so we fall at the lower end of the 24% federal bracket (MAGI of $240-260k- so additional ordinary income is 24% income tax plus whatever Medicare/Social security we must pay on the $40kI know I can retain all the earnings in the LLCand 1031 exchange until we no longer have W-2 wages to reduce our taxes, but I plan on using the $40k for a personal home improvement - replace two HVAC systems and install a new wood deck and landscaping).

We net an additional $1000/mo on each rental.

You’re paying down the loan on an additional $200k by giving up “a few hundred per month” ($200k for 30 years at 1% interest is $643/mo).