Any contractor recommendations to assist with determining rehab costs for these properties would also be extremely helpful.

Everyone on this thread has been extremely helpful.

The Surfside example is extremely rare.

Keep in mind however, the market is extremely competitive and a lot of duplex deals will receive cash offers.

Investing as a tenant in common is only complicated if your exchange entity owns more than one property. 10% cashflow is going to be extremely difficult in today's environment but 6 to 7% cashflow and 10 to 12% total return with appreciation is realistic.Time is ticking with a 1031 though, so you'll need to move quickly.

There is a lot of professional (paid) research you can subscribe as well.Austin is pretty extreme, I believe it had the single highest increase in home values YTD in the US, about double from the national average of 21%.

A handyman can help, now that it's cold the leaves should be red or near falling off?

I prefer existing assets because there is in-place cash flow and when markets turn, developers tend to be the ones left out in the cold.

I am just getting started and imagine that it will be extremely difficult to get sellers to fill complete an 18 page contract just to agree on a sale price.  

She had some job interviews and wanted to look nice, but trying to shower etc. in cold water was tough.