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. 

The main thing is to not lose focus. 

Like Josiah already mentioned you would lose a considerable amount of money if you keep the rent below market value. 

He’s out of state so I cant just go meet him He seems very knowledgeable about real estate but I don’t want to be burned tying up a property and potentially losing my deposit and the deal.

What I mean by that is continuing to feed the pot with a bad hand using the rationalization you have a lot of chips in there already that you would lose if you folded...and that would be completely wrong.Poker is a lot like REI in this regard.