I do know it's hard to determine if a customer is legit by text especially now that I know there are investors from out of state that could very well be looking to hire us, but be very careful because this scam has shown up on my phone 3 times over the past week and they are all out of town or out of the states for treatment of one type or another and all the houses are publicly listed for sale in my service area.I have been very careful to ask several specific questions because I know there could be legit investors looking to hire us for their out of state investments, but after 3 very similar texts I am sure it is a scam so just be careful!

All qualify for 1031 treatment so you don't have the tax bite and all can provide a source of residual income.The question is where does your passion lie.  

You will be sorely disappointed if you go with option 1 and will lose money if you go with 3.Personally I would ask them to put it on a lock box and hire a local newbie agent from the agency representing you to do the showings.

After acceptance I got a report of termite inspection and treatment, but there is no evidence of termites where they said they treated them, nor is there a sticker indicating that treatment was performed, but there are active termites in another location. 

@Carlos AppezattoThe example of what to ask a prospective caller I gave was just a blanket example, you need to set your own criteria but the basic of pre screening applicants is " you just gave them the minimum" that you would even consider meeting with them to show the unit.The other posters have given good tips and I think one thing you could do is have someone "Shop" your realtor.. act like a prospective tenant to call or contact, and see how long it takes for a reply, how enthusiastic the person is to meet and show the unit.. and how quickly they can get an appointment.In the rental business we were shopped occasionally even by our own property owners, so we were prompt with calls, gave fair and equal treatment to applicants, and were good sellers of our units for the owners.. in fact their are businesses out there that hire people to shop apartments just for this purpose.

My concern is the area is quite distressed, while some of the properties are in decent condition, others are boarded up and an eye sore.  

My health took a turn for the worse, and my performance on the job suffered greatly because of the treatment.  

The portion that is used as a rental or investment property would qualify for 1031 Exchange treatment and the portion that is used as your primary residence would qualify for the 121 Exclusion as long as you satisfy the requirements.  

S-Corp tax treatment can be beneficial in some cases, but most start ups go with an LLC bc they are a little simpler and more flexible.

That hole in the water where you park a boat is real estate in Florida and eligible for 1031 treatment - go figure!!!