The BP forums and podcasts have been a wealth of information and knowledge and I look forward to becoming a valued and productive member of the site. 

@Jahan Habib Hard money is a short term loan product.

I don't know many who would bite at that; but, my circle contains sophisticated investors.

The one criteria that makes your property eligible for a 1031 exchange is that it is property that you purchased with the intent to ...hold for productive use in business trade or for investment.  

That would be a lot easier to install as a DIY guy so if you have the money to purchase new product maybe that's the way to go?

I know of 1 bank in Atlanta that has a product but it is pretty close to hard money rates with fees and takes 45 days to close for investors with long track records.

The finished product looks amazing!

There is sealer products that have a grain to fix this type of problem.

While I can understand that a sheriff sale could be deemed as a forced transaction (depite the fact that people are openly bidding), there seems to be no rhyme or reason why a REO sold from a (sophisticated) bank using the MLS for marketing is not an arms length transaction. 

The transaction is considered commercial in nature and the parties are expected to be sophisticated to judge their own risk.