or does it only make sense to decrease your living expense? 

In this case, you should be able to sell directly without listing in the MLS and soliciting buyers, and issuing Tenant rights notices (if applicable in your state) etc which is a huge benefit in DC assuming that the tenant is paying market price or at least a price that is acceptable to you.As suggested above, you should consult with your broker and be sure you’re following their rules on selling your own property.

I noticed something odd during my research near the 610 for buy and holds.

Here's some "light" reading if you want to learn more about this subject directly from the source (IRS):IRS: Federal Tax Liens - RedemptionsIRS: Legal Reference Guide for Revenue Officers - Federal Tax LiensIRS: Guidelines for Processing Notice of Federal Tax Lien Documents

I gave 3 months notice.

My best advice at this point is get an account with hudhomestore.com and look for the property every night as it would come back active with zero notice. 

When I visit my out of area properties, (with advance notice and permission of course) I say, "Hi, I'm Joe the owner and just want to have a quick look around." 

In the lease I must receive written notice of their intention le by september 1, it was to be accompanied by a 10% deposit, half of which was refundable.

When you notice someone saying something smart connect with them and ask if they would consider meeting you for coffee at a place convenient for them.

I have noticed that a lot of these youtube gurus such as Max Maxwell and Flipping Mastery TV(Jerry Norton)  have somewhat high subscriber counts, both over 100k but each video gets only around 10k views.