I've never seen such a mismanaged business.

The property that you sell and then purchase through a 1031 Exchange must be held for rental, investment (capital appreciation), or used in a business. 

As far as LLC structures and tax strategies you should find a CPA who has experience with real estate and small business.  

Just my personal opinion - get a mentor or a person who already has good experience running STR business, preferably in your area (but not 100% required). 

as one who grew up in the land business brokering land in Napa Sonoma Lake Mendo and humbolt counties..

I wish you the best of luck building your business on another platform.  

Looking for tips on tax savings on the small business.

Here are my two cents...I recommend starting in a market with strong fundamentals, such as steady population growth, an influx of major corporations or large businesses relocating to the area, an affordable cost of living, and high rental demand.

I see why they say, never go into business with family.

They make their money off of real estate agents, but real estate agents are the worst people to make money off because they are highly unreliable and in and out of the business when the market changes.Their target should be the consumer with higher levels that they can subscribe too for data, since Zillow is linked to the MLS now which makes their data somewhere more reliable.