I've been doing rentals for close to 20 years and I just learned a new trick that some people probably already know about but it wasn't something I'd seen before.  

Yes it's definitely legal, and I've sold a few this way.

We sold a $330k rental property with almost no base so we need to do an 1031 exchange of roughly $300k to offset capital gain.

Hi Orchid, thank you for introducing yourself! 

Alex you really should decide what you want to do up front.

As for strategies, do you have any other skill set that you can bring to an experienced operator?

It's not.

Right now I use an VA from the Philippines to respond to all my leasing questions (from Facebook, email, text, and phone) and help with application screening and it's been working great for over 5 years!

Since you are already familiar with house hacking, I would consider converting your current home into a rent-by-room or whatever it takes to keep it as a long-term rental, then look for another home you can hack.

A link to FilePlace is at the bottom of every page, making it easy to find.If you have technical issues, email [email protected], and someone will help you.