If so then you have what might be a golden opportunity to give yourself some runway to develop your strategy for real estate  before having to jump into the tight time lines of the 1031. 

The best was the month long trip to Australia where he was going to be completely unreachable and unavailable despite being told that deadline to close was at the end of the month.After pleading with FNMA for an extension, my attorneys kept trying to schedule a date to close. 

We also had a short deadline for closing and going thru the process of a new LLC paperwork and potentially chatting with an attorney would require extra time (that we didn't have).

I envision a tight knit group holding each other accountable that meets once or twice a month.

But his money is tight and cannot come up with the down-payment or fees and closing costs. 

I haven't met a single tenant in 20 years, and have no desire to start :).Also like you holding tight works for me currently, and perhaps I will even hold indefinitely absent some unforeseen future event that might dictate I dispose of them.

My next deal spells out specific expectations as to project duration/scope of work, payment schedule, and deadlines.

As Fred suggested, call the bank and tell them the deadline for financing is XXX and the seller is getting mad that it hasn't been done. 

I am tight on cash right now as I started investing 3 years ago and have been actively buying and updating my properties. 

Have your numbers tight, and make sure they understand that there is a possibility they can lose money.