I am about to sell two of my lower end rentals and I want to 1031 exchange into a single property. 

To self-certify, a taxpayer merely completes a form (which will be released in the summer of 2018) and attaches that form to the taxpayer’s federal income tax return for the taxable year.

If you have decent credit and any kind of a track record, you can get it lower. 

Going these route, your cash flow will be lower as you will have to repay your higher loan from day 1, no matter if you invest the equity you got back, or not.    

So you want him to lower it?

I am getting pretty frustrated because every offer I have put on a property with the intention of renovating has not been accepted and when I find out how much it ended up going for my offer is always significantly lower even though most of the time I go in above asking price.

My main challenge as a part-time investor is being lower on their buyer's list but that just logical business.

Quicker close, lower closing costs, and better rates....

Duh - try lowering the price. 

However, profit from flips cannot be exchanged (legally) so you'll have taxable proceeds at the end (assuming all goes well :) ).