I was wasting time, I held open houses for others, I sat at the front desk taking phone calls, and my fail was follow through.

The tax advantages are heavily weighted to ownership and residence in a primary residence.  

IMO if you find a good agent, he will be worth his weight in gold.

This may help in some insight from a legal perspective Q--After one of my tenants failed to pay rent for several months, I filed an eviction suit.

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My parents contested the award and the tenants failed to show for the next court date but unfortunately my parents were late and the judge gave them another court date. 

There is no penalty for attempting and failing to compete a successful 1031 exchange.

Landlord is obliged to correct the problem within a reasonable amount of time OR failing that, tenant could have the repairs done and deduct from the rent and provide receipts for the work done.

As far as what an intermediary might charge you need to check around and see what their fees would be if you failed to 1031.

If you can borrow the money at 8% interest and no points you'd be much better off, unless the deal fails (in which case you are liable for the unpaid principal and interest whether the deal makes money or not, versus equity where your partners are taking the risk along with you).There is one more option that I should mention...if the people you approach can contribute a skill and become an active partner they can invest their money without the private offering.