We have worked previously with Chris Brown of Edmund & Wheeler, Inc who specialize in larger scale 1031 requests (his site can be found via Google). 

You can go to your states site to form one, it typically doesn't take much time, you can do it online and the cost is a couple of hundred dollars usually.Please reach out if you have any questions.

Within 2 weeks of me showing up everyday the contractor was suddenly finished and left the job site.

Cozy also has online rent payment and syndicates apartment listings to a few sites (realtor.com, doorsteps.com) as well so it's a good tool for small landlords. 

There may be sites or services that will give you a vacancy number.

I had allowed a contractor/handyman doing work on various properties I manage and own to live on site while he was doing the work in one of the apartments. 

My fiancée and I are looking to buy our first place maybe next year, I was hoping that I would be able to put 5 - 10% down and still get first time home buyer (cmhc site specifies primary residence, not investment properties).

Identify gaps in supply in that neighborhood and look at the property as a potential development site.

@Christopher BerggrenYou appear to be complicating  your analysis.  

I'm having trouble putting faith in a tech company to provide tech services that I can't even get setup.I give a lot of leeway to the program simply from the BP referral to the site... but has anybody used this yet?