Meanwhile during the eviction period, we finalized our architectural plans and started the permitting process in the county so we didn't lose much time.

In other words, there are certain parameters you have to be within when identifying replacements, so if a deal goes south for some reason, after filing the papers that identified that property, you might lose the opportunity to take a 1031 at all.

Start to see what makes one more than the other you might have one site looking at quartz counter tops with huge living rooms and the other looking at plastic counter tops,  being able to identify this will help you identify where your property could sit.  

You could look up Neighbor.com and do small storage on site for others as a new niche as well.

But, I do feel bad for the students, since they are the ones that typically don't have the money to lose, but also get suckered by gurus that they can make hundreds of thousands, if not millions, by investing in real estate.

You need to know how to enter the deal and how to exit so you can cover your areas and protect yourself from losing money. 

@David Martoyan, the deal you feel you "need" to do is the deal you will likely lose money on.  

I break even, but i actually lose money on management fees. if I managed it myself I wouldn't be losing money., Lessons learned?

If you don't want to spend time or risk losing money, LTR and multi-family is rather safe.

Because I’m unable to obtain an insured title for two years, I did not plan to invest in this property until then for risk of losing my investment.