Coach Carson is also a great REI podcast to check out; Chad Carson has been on the BP REI and Money podcasts as well.I would highly recommend spending time crunching numbers and really identifying the market you are looking in. 

You may qualify for grants or other special programs that are only available to first time buyers.If you haven't already, start a pre-approval with a good lender so they can see your credit report and help you identify ways to improve your score over the next year.

Endeavor to develop a holistic view of the area.It can be overwhelming but one thing that would likely help you is to find a local investor-friendly agent to help you identify target farm areas.

We identified the sellers needs (tired landlord) and discovered the sellers goals in order to negotiate a win-win scenario.

The catch of the 1031 is identifying properties in a short window (usually 90days or less). 

It would be a good idea to do that and this would help mitigate any risk, just in case your operating account fund gets depleted due to an unexpected series of expenses.I think the answer to your question depends several variables (not limited to the list below): Age of the buildingAmount of deferred maintenance at purchaseWhat you identify during your due diligenceAge of systems (e.g. roof, utilities)How long you plan to hold the buildingAfter evaluating these variables, then you can decide how much you set aside in this account.

3) I understand there is no requirement for a QI to handle funds.4) I understand the time lines are more relaxed and 2 years in mentioned but no real rule.5) I see talk about identifying the exchange property on a tax return but again no rule or how to do this.I would appreciate any help on this issue and thanks for @Dave Foster for heads up to the 1033 in the first place.Cheers,Buddy

I suggest you identify & verify the active cash buyers in that area & connect with them to find out why they aren't interested in your house.

And looks like I may have been talking out of *** on the 1 year thing, thanks to a quick check on BP it looks like you have to identify a property within 45 days of the escrow closing on the original property.

The court first noted that a taxpayer may establish hours of participation in a real property trade or business by any reasonable means.18 The court further stated that this does not require contemporaneous daily reports and that reasonable means includes “appointment books, calendars, or narrative summaries” that identify the services performed and “the approximate number of hours spent performing such services.”Nevertheless, the court also stated that it was not required to accept a postevent ballpark guestimate or the unverified, undocumented testimony of taxpayers.Note: The court also did not count any hours for seminars because it found the taxpayers did not present evidence to show how the seminars related to the residential rental activities