My understanding is the form itself is alerting the IRS to the plans of a 1031 exchange. 

Not only the management aspect they'd be providing but it would allow you an opportunity to "learn on the job" for when you plan on managing it yourself and also give you context for questions that you may have and someone to ask them to.

One competing property should never derail your plan. 

That sounds like a great plan.

The plan was to sell the house so I moved into a condo in August of 2019. 

Smaller cabins benefit more from last minute plans than large cabins do.Someone just posted about social media presence and how that can boost your search placement.

I guess one of the biggest things to consider is how long you plan to be in each specific property.

Educate yourself on the local market, network with other investors and agents, and always have a solid plan in place before making any investments.

My exit plan is to die, and leave this mess to my children.

You absolutely don't need your own license, and I personally wouldn't recommend getting one unless you plan on doing it full-time (just my opinion).