With multiple tenants you are all on the deed as tenants owning a % interest in a particular piece of real estate.Any tenant has the option of doing a 1031, taking the cash, doing a partial 1031, or combining their 1031 with the other tenants.While changes in entity immediately prior to a sale and 1031, it is a very common practice to complete the 1031 exchange with the purchase of the replacement property and then change the entity structure to reflect ongoing goals/strategy. 

He was self managing from a neighboring state and they said no..... is this their normal practice?

And if you don't follow the securities laws, you are essentially guaranteeing the investor's money plus interest since that is their remedy (plus whatever sanctions you get from State regulators and SEC).This is all I do.  100% of my practice is Syndications.

In the 32 years that we lived there, we never ran out once.It's my understanding that this is common practice. 

Don't listen to anyone here unless they are practicing real estate law.BP is fabulous but the biggest pet peeve I have with BP is that everyone is a self proclaimed expert.

It is written by attorneys and full of good, practical advice, all your state laws, and a lot of forms you can edit/use.

That is going to put a practical limit on what you can charge and expect to keep them.

Any recommendations for window treatments? I have vertical blinds in my rentals but I’m tired of the maintenance/repair/clean up after every tenant. Also, with vertical blinds a lot of tenants don’t understand that th...

I believe that days on market has finally stretched a little as the summer is closing, but that's standard practice. 

Also, just like anything else the more time you spend qualify deals the better and faster you will become at it, so the practice will improve the process.