I may be wrong, but will error on the cautious side. 

An LLC creates a legal separation between you and the property, so if something goes wrong—like a lawsuit or debts related to the property—your personal savings, home, and other assets are shielded.

Taking notes and asking questions only got me deeper in the weeds as if I was asking the wrong question. 

I actually reached out to him just to phone chat as while he was arrogant and grating, he seemed to know what he was talking about.Very arrogant and all-knowing over the phone, just rubbed me the wrong way.

We don’t know any PMCs to recommend in the area mentioned, but since selecting the wrong PMC is usually more harmful than selecting a bad tenant, you might want to read our series about “How to Screen a PMC Better than a Tenant”:https://www.biggerpockets.com/member-blogs/3094/91877-how-to-screen-a-pmc-better-than-a-tenant-part-1-services-and-processesWe recommend you get management contracts from several PMCs and compare the services they cover and, more importantly, what they each DO NOT cover.

By installing our own, we remove the wear and tear and damage the tenants do by moving W/Ds in and out and hooking them up wrong (which is common) and using cheap components that cause leaks and destroy floors and walls.

If there is any doubt, I would seek a second opinion but I am unsure if my CPA is wrong in this case, or if I should question further.

Your parents and you could probably use a really good Elder law atty in NY as well to look at how best to structure their ownership and passing to you.Nothing wrong with selling to a related party and completing a 1031 exchange. 

From my perspective, as a California litigation attorney for nearly 35 years, most folks completely focus on the wrong things, especially if they have never seen the inside of a courtroom.The op has posted from the perspective of a property owner seeking protection from tort type liability claims.

Your "right" time could be the wrong time for someone else.