He suggested doing it all in one day to prevent them from seeing it on my record. 

It is free and it prevents someone from using your social security number without detailed verification efforts.

Trying to think through if it makes sense to put more down to prevent from paying.

People sometimes forget to remove the cover and that will prevent it from operating.

This is to prevent people from buying a property for a relative to live in under market value, to generate a tax loss. https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc415

Also, about 1031 exchange, you're saying that an agent would prevent me from changing (retrading) one of the 3 replacement properties or try to delay until I'm forced to consider that one property out of the other 2? 

As it seems as though there would be no need for contact between the homeowner and you for up to ten years,  I'd also be curious about your potential to be knowingly or possibly unknowingly relieved of your lien position due to BK, quit-claim creativity, statute of limitations, even something crazy like adverse possession by an arms length relative could be conjured up to prevent you from getting paid. 

The inspector recommended 14 helical piers to prevent additional settling.

I'm trying to tell you that from the beginning, understanding Geometry and Algebra can prevent that from happening.

Maybe we are in deflationary times and the trillions of dollars are just preventing the downward slide.