My goal here is to do a 1031 exchange and claim the single family house as a rental property but i want to live in it in the future.

Perhaps be their private money lender at a lower interest rate than a HML, and in exchange, you will be helping them supervise the project and learn from them.

But then once the rehab and refi is done, it’s handed over to the PM and you just enjoy the cash flow.I like to think that after doing this a few dozen times, I’ll be able to slow down and maybe start 1031 exchanging to upgrade my cash flow every couple years.

Can you 1031 Exchange a Flip?

Find something of value you can provide them, if you can't find anything ask them what they hate doing and offer to do it for free, in exchange for working with them on a deal/seeing their process start to finish.Last option is to just jump in, lots of research is great but sometimes the best lessons are learned from simply going through the process.

Or, if you know you want to keep your money in real estate, and you've been renting it out for a year or more (not the technical IRS rule, but sort the rule of thumb everyone uses), you could use a 1031 exchange to roll the value of the property into new investment properties.

When he texted the "owner" again, they started to get pushy when he said he'd need to see the inside first and would only exchange cash for keys in person. 

Now I am working on a 1031 tax exchange to bring in another 2000 a month.

And US companies owned by a foreign individual or foreign entity is tricky especially when applying for a loan.

The rules for the gift will depend on the loan you are getting.The other option would be to partner with someone that will split profits in exchange for the down payment contribution.If you are really talking about true cosmetic issues (paint and minor updating), then you might be able to get a conventional loan.However, if this is a flood damaged home, that will most likely not happen.Flood damaged properties have several things to consider:If the house was flooded (versus wind damage to roof or exterior siding), there is a high risk of mold damage, electrical damage, HVAC damage, HVAC duct work mold issues, and hidden surprises depending on the level of flooding.On a related note, if it's in a FEMA flood zone, it will require flood insurance.