Since our goal is to scale in real estate and we do have the funds, we would prefer to minimize the deposits and invest into reno where necessary and keep the capital for now for improvements, if they arise.

The benefits of selling as a portfolio is that when you do a 1031 exchange, you won't have to coordinate the sales of multiple properties, And this would minimize the amount of individual exchange fees. 

Nothing wrong with trying to minimize your taxes.

A final settlement statement should be agreed upon to ensure no discrepancies.This process ensures that the transition is efficient, minimizes disruption for tenants, and allows you to take over the management of the units with all the necessary information at hand.I hope this helps, and best of luck with the transition!

If your renovations are minimal, you can start advertising right away.

For example, one steady red flag I've noticed is if the tenant tries to overly sell themselves almost with a rehearsed pitch before you even start asking questions especially. 

The minimal need for renovation and favorable market conditions in the Jasper, GA area made this an attractive opportunity to capitalize on.

Sending quality information/updates through email to the people who contacted you and opted in to your email list could lead to similar results - IF you don’t bombard them with continuous sales pitches and or irrelevant information.  

It needed minimal work to get it ready so I jumped on it.

For your first one, I think the condo route is solid because it (should) be minimal maintenance and lower price points which make the ROI actually work with a long-term tenant.