I review the application first and if it looks in order I proceed to the application fee and third party screening.  

But they cannot do your 1031s because their work for you on the entity side makes them a related party to you. 

Well, of the three parties involved in this story....you (the CURRENT owner), YOUR tenants, and the FORMER owner, I can tell you who I think has the LEAST legal/ethical responsibility to pay this utility bill.

I built the building to have ~3,000 sq ft of tenant space available.With Covid and other things, nibbles on potential tenants has been far and in between, but recently have two very interested parties....and I am not sure which set up may be better long run!

You're absolutely right, I think that's the fun part is thinking about these challenges and how to meet the demands but allow the spaces to be flexible enough for adaptation. 

Very important to not always think about yourself but also the other parties involved.

Other times they are required to produce the information to certain parties per state code.

They are acting as the Property Manager in this case, rather than hiring a 3rd party property manager and acting as an Asset Manager? 

If you can structure it to the pint where it cash flows and makes sense for all parties involved, this is a great way to reach your goal of 10+ units with limited capital.

Easy enough.The most important part is meeting the 1031 requirements.