You will love the power it gives you to use the deferred tax for your benefit rather than having to pay it to the government.You should be able to get a good exchange performed for less than $1000. 

What I'm hoping to find: I'm hoping to make connections, for mutual benefit; this could be investor friendly agents who have experience with identifying promising house hacks, investors who are looking for an additional financial partner, investors who are looking for a partner to help manage the load of projects (I am naturally drawn to planning and execution), and more broadly anyone who is willing to share experience and create new connections!

This way, the lender wouldn’t be triggered (since most allow transfers to a trust), but I'd still have the benefits of an LLC.Other options a.

Under any scenario, any state, someone who sits on their rights and lets someone get into the weeds to the benefit of the person who sat on their rights, will NOT have those "rights" enforced by the courts.  

The 1031 is going to reap you a large net benefit even if there isn't a lot of capital gain. 

Also, consider the appreciation and tax benefits.

If your overall income, including capital gains, is low enough (under $150k), you may still benefit from rental losses.

Commercial real estate is also set to benefit: expect new medical office buildings, pharmacies, and veteran-focused services (physical therapy clinics, assisted living facilities, etc.) to pop up around the campus.

I have some ideas about how to do this so we both get the most benefit, but there's one part of this that I want to get some input on. 

You will lose ALL tax benefits and owe all the capital gains that would have gone away.