We have grown the business to afford hiring someone to take over my role so I can pursue investing in real estate. 

Again the law makers will blame the greedy LL without recognizing the lawmakers role in the rent increases. 

The goal is NOT to sell them something, the goal is to establish your role as a local advisor and to collect data.

That may play a role in your plans.

The renters will contract with and pay rent to the management company (not to us).I would like to protect the property and my personal assets from any legal risk from renters.if we use an LLC to manage that risk…1) Does our property need to be in an LLC or can it remain outside somehow2) What role is the LLC business performing (is it also considered a property management business and thus require a real estate business license in some states)? 

Agree with Dan and Zachary, there are a lot of options and it depends on how active of an investor you want to be.If you’re looking to take a more passive role in your real estate and want the benefits of diversification there are funds available to accredited investors that are designed to allow investors the opportunity for ownership of institutional investment grade property that is occupied by regional, national, and Fortune 500 credited companies. 

Also, I think it'd be good to hear the people you want to be surrounded by because that would likely play a role.

Thinking of kicking things off with house hacking and maybe trying to work as a property manager or something similar to stay close to the industry.My wife and I went through a wonderful exercise–thanks to @Bruce Woodruff for the invaluable guidance–to define what's important to us, our values, goals and dreams.

Then pay your rent until they exercise the option to purchase. 

The role you're in at the moment is that of order taker -  not trusted advisor.