Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

As long as you follow the two-year holding rule and structure the deal properly, you should be able to move forward, but I’d highly recommend working with a tax pro to ensure compliance.Disclaimer: I’m a licensed real estate broker associate in Florida, not a CPA or tax attorney.

Any recommendation on how to go about this, is highly appreciated.Thank you all.

I highly recommend an attorney to draw one up as each state and each property can have unique issues. 

I personally would recommend it but it isnt the best run 3 day. 

I couldn't be more pleased.This type of investing would highly recommend for those folks who don't want to be on the phone with lenders, property managers, insurance companies, trying to upload 100 documents to the lender, etc.Recently, I sold a rental property and did a 1031 exchange.

What strategies do you recommend for scaling my portfolio?

I always recommend it as a good place to start.

Buildium is commonly recommended for smaller PM companies.

Also please recommend a local CPA here in SoCal who has experience with REI if you know any.