Someone who needed to sell in 30 days or less for a 1031 exchange; didn't hear from him after first call.

(Quick closing, no hassles, up front cash, you worry about the trash, etc).If for some reason the seller doesn't require cash, you can of course exchange for other things.

Exchangers are less picky and won't freak out that they paid $300 a night and saw an ant on the table.

Would they be willing to do so in exchange for a refund of the option fee minus the back rent and any damages? 

Marketing the property for sale prior to owning it would be acting as an unlicensed broker. 4735.01 Real estate broker definitions.As used in thischapter:(A) "Real estate broker" includes any person, partnership, association, limited liability company, limited liability partnership, or corporation, foreign or domestic, who for another, whether pursuant to a power of attorney or otherwise, and who for a fee, commission, or other valuable consideration, or with the intention, or in the expectation, or upon the promise of receiving or collecting a fee, commission, or other valuable consideration does any of the following: (1) Sells, exchanges, purchases, rents, or leases, or negotiates the sale, exchange, purchase, rental, or leasing of any real estate; (2) Offers, attempts, or agrees to negotiate the sale, exchange, purchase, rental, or leasing of any real estate; (3) Lists, or offers, attempts, or agrees to list, or auctions, or offers, attempts, or agrees to auction, any real estate; (4) Buys or offers to buy, sells or offers to sell, or otherwise deals in options on real estate;   

You would certainly qualify for a 1031 Exchange after you have converted the property into rental property and held as rental property for a period of time. 

Now I am now dedicated to building my buy-hold portfolio of properties...still fully employed.Looking for: exchange of experiences and info, and expanding my rental portfolio.Cheers!

Hopefully we can exchange war stories as we become the pros.Cheers!

It doesn't help now, but for future reference, sign the lease and exchange the keys for money AT THE SAME TIME!

I did a similar deal recently and contributed the land in exchange for pro rata profit split based on cash builder put in for build costs.