Your 1031 QI would have to buy/hold the land and do all the construction BEFORE you owned it. 

Compare wear thickness(the top layer) and overall thickness.

The appraisal was the longest hold up but the junior loan officer we were assigned seems to have zero idea what he is doing and zero sense of urgency...

For myself, I currently look for buy and hold with long term appreciation. 

There will be many situations where you can help a homeowner save their home -  however, in other situations they just want to sell quickly which provides a wholesale, fix/flip, buy/hold opportunity for you. 

Since you're using hard money for your fix-and-flip, make sure you also have reserves for holding costs and unexpected expenses.

Fed can’t raise interest rates to hold inflation down due to Fed debt levels.  

I recognize that my net worth is small compared to some of the people I associate with.

Part of the allure was the holding fees (insurance / property were several thousand less then up north) After one year, my Huntsville tenant had to move out early for a job relocation.

With the hold periods on BRRRRs nowadays, your margins will get crushed with hard money interest payments/points/fees.