Hi Maria, yes I do, would love to exchange information with you.

Did they ask for a retainer in exchange for an exclusive listing agreement when/if a house a house that was in pre foreclosure actually went through foreclosure?

The benefit is you can make an illiquid asset liquid & in exchange collect royalties from people buying/selling fractionalized pieces of the property on a secondary marketplace along with the standard price appreciation of the property.

I own two fully paid out single family homes through a 1031 exchange, my original thought process is to keep them long term since that's been what I've done in the past, however I am contemplating changing my strategy since I'm seeing a lot of movement in the local real estate market that people are flipping them within a month of their purchase on the home. 

I'd be sure to go to some local meetups as well to find investors in your area and offer to do electrical work for them in exchange for helping you learn the business.

I didn't charge more for it (because it saved me time and effort of dealing with it) but in exchange if anything ever broke I wouldn't deal with it.

Other investors are, too.Attend real estate investor meetups and exchange meetings.

Is this the ideal rental or are you better off selling or exchanging it to buy something else?

-Sell one of the homes and clear the mortgage (throwing in personal money) and continue to rent as normal-Sell all properties 1031 exchange using as a down payment and go after a commercial deal (8% cap or better) I’m leaning towards the last because as I advance with my career, it takes up more of my time.

the 1031 exchange will accommodate all of it - you can change locations, types, priorities, and risk all using the 1031.   1031 investors aren't all chasing one thing.