What strategies would you deploy to raise rents to get to the pro forma quickly without raising a ton of vacancies right away?

You can open an LLC at a place like Legal Zoom or Harvard Business Solutions. 

We are fully licensed and insured business and are focusing on expanding further into Orange County over the next 1-5 years.

It is also 4 blocks from a local (small-ish) hospital that employs about 10 to 12 travel nurses at a time.The original strategy when purchasing the home was to purchase it as an MTR or STR.

It's a weird strategy I never would partake in. 

Move to an area with higher population (with hopefully more opportunities)  buy a house and start my business with say, $60k-$80k less. 

You can find more info on 1031 exchanges at this link: https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/like-kind-exchanges-under-irc-code-section-1031Regarding the change of ownership from joint to individual, there might be a couple of ways to handle that depending on your state laws and the terms of your divorce agreement.

Long-term rental and a short-term rental are two completely different business/investments.You should understand what each requires and see if you are comfortable with them.Short-term rentals, on paper, generate more income but require more work.

If you can wait you may want to do so, educate yourself a bit, save up the capital and put yourself in a better position. buying properties as investments with low money down isn't usually a great strategy especially now were you won't be certain when you can refi

This transaction demonstrated our effective renovation strategy and project management, resulting in a significant profit.