The biggest concern for me, assuming the numbers work, is securing a trustworthy and proactive property manager.  I

Would love to learn from other investors on this forum what they attribute this to.

In addition, if you are self-employed with no full-time employees you may wish to consider opening a Solo 401k instead of a self-directed IRA as it has several advantages over an IRA LLC such as much higher contribution limits, direct checkbook control (i.e. no need to have the account at a specialty trust company), ability to take a 401k loan, exclusion from unrelated debt finance income tax with respect to investment in real estate acquired with non-recourse financing, etc.In addition, please note if you purchase debt-financed real estate with your IRA, unrelated debt finance income tax should apply to the income attributable to debt-financed real estate held by your IRA.

It's that taking 1031 money requires a DST, which is a trust, and as per stipulations within a trust the managerial functions are layered with scopes and restrictions.  

If your property manager is not vigilant (and I almost guarantee he won't be unless you have found someone that I haven't!)

Finding a good property manager is a process BUT you try your best with the systems you have in place and nail one down. 

But I understand that it could really not end well if you continue to have no communication with your manager. I

If you're forced to place Section 8 tenants, your property manager is far more likely to choose the first tenant with a valid voucher and probably won't even qualify them otherwise.

Managing a property manager is always more difficult from a distance.

They attributed it to several factors, including landlords just wanting to get units filled and to newbie investors getting stuck with properties that expected to sell.