I thought he won't be able to put a valid lien as he broke the contract first - missing the deadline by a lot and not finishing the work?

We also gave them a notice that we will be vacating by 24-Jul,18.However, our home is still not close to being handed over to us and hence we requested the rental property another 2 months of extension, 2 days after our 30-day notice deadline.

We are past all objection deadlines on this property.

We offer a guaranteed 10 day turn around on all our reports so it could help with your deadline. 

So I’m trying to find the right strategy to use to get this credit to work before the 0% deadline hits.

A lease option is a contract to rent a property with the option to buy it later at a certain price by a certain deadline, much like a stock options. 

Usually the buyer has multiple outs in a contract but missing a deadline can kill a deal if written correctly.

The contractor agreed at the beginning that the scope of the work was well within the time limit agreed upon, but now seems to be struggling to meet the deadline.

We responded well before the 4pm deadline.

He can then invest that money any way he chooses, without 1031 hassles, deadlines and risks.