A lot of people don't have a whole lot of interest in living in constant fixer-uppers, so you have to have the right mentality for that.A variation on it, if you want to live in better homes that aren't great rentals, is to, again, buy homes that are under market because they need some work, do the work, live there 2 years then sell for a profit and keep all of your capital gains.

He is in the insurance business. 

Just starting in the Real Estate businessHey everyone, just starting in the Real Estate / Raw Land  business and am eager to learn as much as I can as I make progress in the upcoming weeks.

Watch the ReventureConsulting.com youtube videos "People are Leaving Texas(Home Prices Dropping)

As an investor, I've allowed people to stay in my property if they built a fence on the property (single family) and/or if it is kept leashed outside of the unit and I don't get any complaints from other tenants (multi-unit). 

Akron was easier because we have family in the agent/investor business so we had lots of trusted referrals.   

I would appreciate anyone who might help me work through this, but please only people who have read the book and understand Dave Meyer's concepts and teachings.

As Dave points out, only real estate held for business or investment use qualifies for 1031.  

Several agents have told me they are required to send it out whether they have other offers or not and most people add at least a few thousand to their offer.

I think they mainly help people determine if unpermitted additions can (likely) be made legal or not, but seems like they could be useful in your situation as well.