Mediation exposed he's walked away with $10k of funds and $12k in building materials that have been paid for.   

More like stall, lowball offer to settle, refuse to make you whole and then you having to go out of pocket for repairs and then law suit or mediation to get what you deserve.I am sure your ins co would do fine if your's was the only house on the block to say, burn down but in a giant disaster, you might not be happy with their performance. 

I'm a doer, good at relationships, mediating conflicts, and fixing things. 

Sometimes it may be best to have a third party involved to mediate if it gets ugly

Pierce county has a program called Solveit which mandates mediation before eviction.

I would assume they won't release any of the liens until the work is done on the property that mediates the condtion for them getting the liens in the first place, but I would feel alot more comfortable talking with somebody who understands I'm just buying the property and will do right by cleaning up these houses but don't want to get penalized for something that the previous buyers did.Thank you in advance

What would be great is to have mandatory mediation just like we have in our real estate contracts.. 

I have a couple more questions;  1) Do I have to use my buyers property in the exchange or can I buy someone else's property. 2) If I bought someone else's property and paid cash for it, before I filed for a 1031. could I use the cost of that property later when I did file for a 1031.( I don't think I could finish building in 6 months ).  3) How to I pay for the new construction when the funds are tied up, do I have to borrow the money, or are the bills paid by the mediator out of the separate account.Thanks, George

You are a landlord, not a life coach, mediator, or some sort of powerful person that controls the actions of others.This was a big lesson I learned becoming a landlord.

Since you can't ascertain the full amount of unpaid rent and / or damages to the unit until the tenant has vacated, the second cause hearing is scheduled approximately 4 weeks after the first cause hearing.At the hearing you'll have the opportunity to discuss and mediate with your tenant if you choose.