1031 exchanges are a way to differ the taxes on your capital gains, so theoretically you can do a 1031 as soon as you have gained any equity in the  property.

The other benefit of having someone travel to remote locations are to have a presence during major construction projects and to initiate and interview and inspect property managers.You would all know better than I would if there is value here. 

This would require us to figure out the salary and benefits and officially hire an "employee".   

I plan on retiring in a few years but by "retire" I mean my passive income has replaced my W2 income + benefits and I am in my dream home already and have tapped out all the conventional mortgages I can get.

I am very familiar with BP now and I have gained so much practical knowledge from through the BP Podcasts.Nonetheless, let's get down to the business of introducing myself:As mentioned, I live down in South Florida (Broward County to be a little more specific).

Here is what I would do if I were you starting out:First, utilize all the free resources on here to gain valuable knowledge from experienced real estate investors.

Write them a letter stating you are interesting in purchasing the property, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain 

Fifteen+ years down the line, if the Appreciation Gods have smiled upon him, a 1031 could even allow him to trade one appreciated property for 2-3 new cash flow properties with no tax bill for all those capital gains! 

Back in May I enrolled to get my real estate agent license and I feel like it will be a benefit to my company.  

. #1 make sure you have a deal worth having #2 market the deal to REIA's and other places until you find a interested buyer.even if you dont find one for that property in 6months(and the contract falls through after 6 months) you would have gained a lot of knowledge and connections that could help further your goals and career in the business.