With over $200,000 in equity in a rental home, would you recommend selling and doing a 1031 exchange into a commercial property like an apartment building?

Only if the apartment building genuinely out-earns the rental you already own. Cash flow is the goal here, so run both properties side by side with the full numbers: rents, vacancy, management, taxes, insurance, maintenance, and debt service. If the commercial deal pencils out better, exchanging makes sense. If it doesn't, keep what you have. On the tax side, a 1031 exchange lets you defer capital gains tax by rolling proceeds from one investment property into another. The IRS generally treats real property held for investment as like-kind, so trading a residential rental into an apartment building usually qualifies. The timelines are strict and unforgiving (generally 45 days to identify the replacement and 180 days to close), so line up a qualified intermediary and a tax professional before you list anything. Nobody can promise how either property performs from here. Let the numbers make the call.