Currently, I lease one of the three units to someone who keeps it clean.

Then we paid him an additional $17,500 to complete the next stage of the project (plumbing, floors, etc) but that's when everything went south.

Flooring  LVP throughout 6kish assuming 1200- 1400 sq ft.

When you select the next tenant I would certainly ensure that you have your eyes on the applications that are coming in, and ask that you are involved in the decision making process. 3x income, clean credit and background checks should be a minimum for approval, even if it takes a month or so to find someone. 

You need to do more than a day of fixups - painting, carpet steam cleaned, cleaning all drawers and appliances, exterior touchups.You have a "perfect" process set out, but it's one that will push you to make a bad tenant decision and not vet them properly.

Then the partnership can be on title as the owner of both current properties and then the partnership can be the consistent taxpayer for a clean 1031 exchange.

In this case, you’d likely want to work with a real estate attorney to make sure everything’s clean and the title is transferred properly.Good luck!

Other REIAs also.Get a list of subs for the trades;  a handyman (or 2) a plumber, electrician, roofer, flooring, painter....   

But if not, I own a halfway/transitional/clean and sober house in WA and would be happy to answer your questions.

Prioritize high-ROI renovations such as kitchen and bathroom upgrades, flooring, and enhancing curb appeal.