I found it very unlikely that the government would not want to get their piece of the pie, especially if they had purchased a new primary home.Donyou have a Tax Code or Publication Number you can share so I can study up and understand your thought process more in depth?

If your firend wants to stay in the place AND has the funds/income to do so, they need to refinance in their name ASAP (as part of the process), not 5 yeas from now, not if they remarry, not 10years from now.   

Would like to get the process going. 

I need to do some research on what credit score I need to actually begin this process 

Commercial brokers no the process, also know the players in finding buyersIt’s a completely different ballgame.

You also need to account for the eviction process, state laws etc...

I won't just write them all here but I highly recommend contacting a qualified 1031 intermediary to walk you through the process.

My wife (who's from CR) and I are early in the process. 

There is a flaw in the business model and thier internal processes need a lot of work.First the good,Yes, I got paid every month.Nomad found me good renters.Next the badDue to needing to make the guaranteed rent they rented my unit below market valueIn communicating with Nomad they were disorganized, often sending conflicting messages and not alignedNomad offered to find me a repair company, that compnany charged $400 for a $25 dollar part and I was stuck with Nomad saying "not their problem" and the vendor saying Nomad was the client not me.Nomad was horrible to my renters as their property management term ended.

Though, this process will be the same for the other state (if you created a CA LLC you may need to register it as a foreign LLC in the state in which you are doing business/holding property).