But before that you need to establish that you purchased it with an investment intent. 

Since you'll be investing out of state, establishing a good team will be crucial.

Have you established a team yet?  

It may be beneficial to link up with an established wholesaler and pay them to mentor you or work for them and learn.

Quote from @Brandon Larson: It's important to have established policies and procedures, but I wouldn't put a lot of effort into that with only a duplex under management.

To establish a 50-50 ownership in both the property and future profits, you'll need a formal agreement outlining each person's contributions and rights.

Our goal is to establish a structure where the property owner can secure financing based on the long-term lease with the operational company.Any advice or insights from those who have navigated similar situations would be greatly appreciated!

Or should we just establish our LLC and get financing through a DSCR lender? 

Of course when doing the 1031 exchange your basis will carry forward into your replacement property.Where you have a potential issue is establishing your intent to hold those properties but immediately selling one or more them as soon as you have them ready. 

After reviewing your application, we’ve determined that, unfortunately, we are unable to move forward with your application at this time, as it does not meet our established criteria for income and (other established criteria) We appreciate the time you took to apply and wish you the best of luck in your continued search for a home.