Is a 1031 exchange right for me?

[Thomas Lam]

A few years ago I purchased an investment property in another state. Although not listed for sale, I recently received an unexpected offer which was enough to motivate me to sell.

Now that the contract is about to be signed, I'm scrambling to figure out how to reinvest my gains to avoid paying capital gains tax. 

I've been reading up on the 1031 exchange and this sounds like something that I'm interested in, however, the rules are very specific and there are time constraints. I feel as if I may end up being "rushed" into purchasing a bad investment for the sake of avoiding paying capital gains tax. 

From what I'm reading, most who are doing a 1031 already have another property in mind, which I do not at this time. 

So here's my issue. I'm going to have a fairly large sum of cash (to me) that I want to reinvest in a multiplex where I currently live with hopes of finding a property that will offer a similar return to my current property. This is going to take time.  

I'm new to investing in the area that I'm in and have no agent. I have to deal with selling the other property while hoping to find the ideal property in my area that meets my criteria.

If I'm understand correctly, I have 45 days after the close of my current property to identify my next investment. My closing is going to be somewhere around Sep 1, meaning that I have a limited amount of time to find a "good" agent and find the property that I'm looking for. 

Is the 1031 really the best option for me? Are there any other options that will allow me to take my time finding the perfect property?