Otherwise I would need to look and hour or two out, and living an hour away from work seems like a waste of time and energy. however, I’m moving there from California so I haven’t had the chance to look myself yet, drive around, etc.

If so, you open yourself up to a larger pool of candidates.

People think they are going to save money by doing the eviction themselves, but it ends up costing them much more in lost rents and psychic energy than an attorney ever would. 

From the 1031 perspective though there is one other possibility that may not naturally occur to you.If you can combine those sales in a compressed time frame it would be possible to combine them (the time frames have to overlap) into one or more larger assets. 

I have a strong work ethic and a ton of energy but would like to channel it in a different direction.

Everything else is a waste of time and energy.

If I had larger cash reserves and/or more properties, I would consider cash value.

Larger multi-family with newer heating/plumbing/electric.

The larger properties in the 100s of unit range tend to be owned by larger companies who have developed systems to maximize returns over the long run. 

@Michael Baum I did check zoning, it’s zoned for a three unit space because it’s a larger lot.