Instead, I'd like to sell this property and take the proceeds and roll that into a rental that's closer to me and use whatever tax advantages I can to assist me.I'm confused with how the 1031 works and was hoping someone could explain to me how to "use" it.  

The purpose of these are to be quick and help investors recover their cash so they can roll into another deal quickly.  

Google the Howey Test if you'd like more info about what determines whether you're offering a security.

If they are rolling it into other deals, then seller financing may not be a good fit for them.

Hi Jean,Stock it with fish and have fun fishing all summer.Plant wild rice and maybe Ducks will show up--beautiful creatures to watch, and some people hunt them.Build a dock and toss in a small row boat....for romantic evening rides and something for the kids to play with.[1]>>> Have it tested for chemicals...some of these ponds have a years of farm runoff in them--pesticides and manure--it would be a shame if it's toxic.[2]>>> See if the sides go straight down (like a farmer scraped it out for whatever reason) and it would be dangerous vs. like a beach.Good Luck!

They paid each month and when December rolled around they said that they couldn't close due to the TRUST that was going to pay for the property required repairs needed to be made before the trust would approve the purchase. 

Hi @Nick LaRocca I just passed my exam and said I only want to do commercial but now I am testing both commercial and luxury residential to see what I actually like best.

Ask for a rent roll, bank statements showing rents paid. existing lease, tenants original application hopefully with DL pic and social security number.  

Ideally you should get a year to date (and previous year) rent roll to see if tenants are late on rent or have been paying late.

I realized that if I had kept more reserves and had less leverage and done a rental stress test on my properties, all of the properties I had that I bought at the top of the market in 2006, I would have been doing better right now.