Their property management division appears to be second to none, for me that's worth paying for.Again, I'm quite new at the concept and still looking.

Some resorts have their own rental program that you can join where others don't. 

I ran out of cash and now need to finish up.Options:1) I have heard about interest only payments and refinancing at the end, but I don't know how to find these.2) I also heard about a program called Homestay  that provides the renovation money and then refinances all in one. the interest rate is a bit higher than a regular refinance since there is a loan involved. but is doable.3) is there an option 3??

You should not need to rely on or worry about the status of these programs in 40 years. 

Appreciation will be low, and it would be harder to sell when / if the time comes (again, people point to that often times cheap houses sits on markets for months at a time, versus in seattle it sells like hot cakes)Upside of local investment is that it appears “safer” - I know the market, I can drive to it to make sure no one “Morris”ed me, and when the time comes to sell / 1031 - hey, it’s easy, and it most likely will come with good appreciation (I know, appreciation is not guaranteed; it’s icing on the cake).What would you guys do?

Here are some recommendations for you:Find and connect with other BP members that are in your area: https://www.biggerpockets.com/search/users Set up keyword alerts to be notified of the topics that interest you: http://www.biggerpockets.com/alerts Read Beginner’s Guide: http://www.biggerpockets.com/real-estate-investing Check out BP Podcasts: https://www.biggerpockets.com/podcastIf you wish to tag someone in the conversation on the forum, type @ followed by their name and then select the name of that person which should appear below the comments box.

It does appear I can have an unrelated party make the purchase however, and then purchase it from them later using the 1031 funds. 

Service the garage door, program keyless entry and install 1 remote control, $141.80 (before buying the property I had someone service the garage door but not program keyless entry).

I see a lot of houses for sale there that appear to only need some cosmetic work in order to rent out.

They are apparently piloting a program that will allow you to receive half payment earlier for a 1% fee.