There are many ways to get involved with multifamily that you may not know yet, so I wouldn't rule it out entirely to start.

Definitely get a title company involved.

Yes, you definitely have to set that up in advance - doing a 1031 is complicated and involves using a 3rd party to hold funds, various timelines for identifying the exchange property, and lots of other restrictions.There's a ton of content on the site about the details - search the forums or the blog and you'll find it.

Each side is a 2 bedroom 1 bathroom unit with partially finished basements (which I know doesn’t could as livable square footage).

There is a different level of liability risk involved in note investing vs ownership of properties. 

They're 1 bedroom 1 bath 800 square foot units.

I just purchased a mix used commercial/residential 4400 square foot building.

This is acceptable as long as the holder of the SDIRA is not related to the borrower and otherwise not involved in the project either directly or indirectly (i.e. the holder of the SDIRA does not own a company which is handling part of the renovation). 

I actually flip fire damaged properties, so as @Brandon Sturgill said that isn't a deal breaker--just get the right people involved.

I'm also not an accredited investor so syndication involvement would be limited so becoming accredited is something I'll be working toward.