Lucky my family was ok but if i remember correctly the man who hosted the party had to pay that jerk thousands of dollars, so much my father said he had to go get a loan after or he would not have been able to pay his employees. 

@Dave Foster Thanks Dave!

If they are using employees or subcontractors I would think you would want them to be covered. 

The longer it was rented out can’t hurt either since it’s supposed to be an exchange of one investment property for another investment property  Your probably going to need a 1031 expert like @Dave Foster or a CPA to weigh in if you don’t have one. 

Subsequently, after establishing a balanced relationship with the tenant, you can consider making upgrades to the landlord's apartment,as a sidenote: Should any usable items be removed during renovations, offering them to the tenant can foster goodwill and enhance the tenant-landlord relationship.

As John said try to get the name of the employee, perhaps send an email recap and seek confirmation. agreed!

An expert like @Dave Foster could tell you if there’s anyway to pull it off if you have the extra 50% in cash laying around.

Those guys end up buying marketing programs from one of a few specialized real estate marketing organizations out of either Las Vegas or Salt Lake City; and the result is the cost of their programs goes from $3000 to $40,000, the quality of their information go from a 8 to a 4, and once you’ve entered their program all your contact is with an employee while the guru is out giving seminars, workshops, and making videos.   

My company long and foster offer great referral program.

If anyone thinks they have the expertise to target pre-foreclosures in the face of federal laws, attorneys being in the mix dealing on either side of these matters, Realtors being aware of the legal environment, banks delaying procedures in anticipation of sales or solutions, bank employees reviewing contracts and pending steps, what a seller may do in expectation of a sale and other issues.......well, you just have at it.