This provision allows $250,000 tax exclusion for a single person or $500,000 tax exclusion for a couple. 

There is no $250K exclusion for a 1031 exchange. 

Dedicate one checking account and credit card exclusively to real estate.

This exclusion does not apply to investment property. 8)

We are looking to do this versus a home office deduction, which we probably wouldn’t qualify for anyway (would fail the exclusive clause).I’m sure this question has been covered before in the forums, but I can’t seem to locate a specific thread on this topic.

Many of my clients receive exclusive off market listings from me directly. 

Please let me know if you continue to have restrictions accessing Pro Exclusive Tools and Services and I'd be happy to assist. 

The first statement "he sold it with no capital gains" is a bit worrying, do you mean he used section 121 exclusion for the capital gains he incurred selling a primary residence? 

I'm focusing almost exclusively on cash flow so I'm looking into multi-fam and house hacking, but hope to eventually get into apartment syndication in the long term.

Take advantage of the capital gains exclusion laws.