Sorry for taking so long, but I've been having my own growing pains.One of the things we're not really looking closely at is the hyperlocality of Pittsburgh, a fundamental understanding of the unusual nature of this place and how, through insularity and other factors, it tends to punish long-distance investors.

With several hiking trails/boats/kayaks/bicycles/etc, and just nature in general, what do most people do protect themselves from potential issues?

It's random, and those were just the people that I happened to meet over a couple of hours (and I'm not naturally extroverted).

Oh and the original Incumbent tenant dies of natural causes in the unit one month prior to closing in June which delayed it again.Needless to say...

Depending on the nature of the relationship he had with the deceased, he may actually find it offensive that all you care at this point is your rental. 

Cultivate relationships where referrals become a natural part of your interactions.

And you have to be comfortable asking people to do something they may not be naturally inclined to do.  

As long as the amount of segregated 1245 property in the replacement property is fundamentally equivalent in amount and nature to that of the relinquished property.

There are lots of flaws with the argument though:1.By nature STRs do not have long term contracts with their "tenants".2.  

It was not a newly constructed fence to increase the value of the property; rather, it was a replacement for an old, damaged fence due to nature disaster.