@Michell ChaseI recommend finding an accountant who specializes in real estate taxation, tax planning and federal employee retirement planning.

Recently acquired a single family property through a death in the family. 2000sqft property needs a full gut and plans to turn into a 2 family.

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

You can absolutely do FHA with 3.5% down if you plan on living in one of the units 

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

Do they offer Cash-For-Keys or Payment Plans?

We are planning to occupy there for 1 ~ 2 years and looking for cash flow after we leave. 

A getaway plan of real estate investing to fund life on a sail boat How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

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.