I can imagine a complicated mechanism that would produce an arguably valid 1031 strategy...but it almost certainly would create more problems than it solves.  

Is he running a very established business, lots of web presence, social media, referrals through “next door” type boards, to go after in small claims court.

There's not much at that price range that would produce cash flow or change your position much.

Plus you never know when you might need to produce your financial portfolio to someone for a loan or for someone to even purchase.

I want 2.5%” The truth is that the rule changes are not going to produce the “desired effect” of limiting commissions or making home buying more affordable.

Web based lead generation is your best option. 

And saying you will send an LOI without having any pro-forma information is probably producing an eye roll and a push of the delete button.

It increases the liability risk, it increases wear-and-tear, the tenant is using your property to produce an income, the extra traffic could impact their community, they may be operating in violation of the law, and more.If I caught someone doing that, I send them an immediate cease-and-desist.

During a cost set study and expert will document and assess the value of every component of the property and produce a report  that itemizes the value by asset life. 

I tried looking up on the City web site but could not find either.