After asking for status reports, his then assistant would give me a short answer and advise Carson had more to tell me but that he was traveling....always traveling, and that he would call me back upon returning to the office.

After the 1031 is complete you can work with your financial advisers to create a new holding entity that involves everyone. 

Reading through some other forum posts, it looks like there are much simpler partnerships, entities, or offerings that would meet what I am trying to do:My Role:-Decide on properties to purchase, mostly SFHs-Establish LLCs or other business structures to hold the real estate and distribute returns-Purchase properties, using loans as needed depending on the ROI/cash flow desired from investors-Act as property manager for the properties-Depreciate properties held in business entities to minimize taxable income to investors-Distribute returns to investors-Create investments that have high cash flow (CF) and low appreciation (App) , moderate CF and App, low CF and high App-Find investors from connections, friends, and family with no public advertising-Advise in a minimal capacity on tax and real estate strategies-Send investment reports to investors-Be fiduciary to all investors-Receive compensation from PM and other management work I do related to the investmentsInvestors:-Can be non-accredited -Invest as little as $1000-Can use retirement accountsWhat references can people recommend for me to learn about business structures, partnerships, securities, taxes, or other topics to get me started on learning what will work for my goals?

I don't know your market, so I would not be able to advise you, but just consider the sellers motives and make the terms beneficial for both parties. 

Readers are advised to seek professional advice.

You may want to switch to a vacant dwelling policy if it will be unoccupied longer than the limit (ie. 30 days, 60 days, ...)The other advise I would give is see what other uses the house is zoned for.  

We don’t require but advise tenants to carry renters insurance which they usually don’t carry.

While the West End market has been hot this past year and will continue to experience high demand, pulling comps from 7-8 months ago is ill-advised.

I would strongly advise against it unless they are a true handyman, carpenter, plumber, electrician, etc.

The boyfriend has since advised me he is no longer at the home and wishes to have "his" security deposit returned to him.