I only comment on things that I have personal first-hand experiences, and I hope others would do the same.

(Other than the fact you have to reinvest all cash received obviously.)You also know that a personal residence can’t be 1031’d unless it was also a rental before sale, so the $250k exclusion wouldn’t apply unless it was both a primary and a rental.

I, myself, when looking at a deal, don't care to ever see it in person unless I know the numbers of what's possible.

As @Clayton Silva said, you can only do FHA in personal name.

We've both spent 100+ hours through various means over the past year - are we able to run a cost segregation study that would benefit both of us from a tax write-off perspective or only the person who spent the most time?

Close relatives buying rental property together but one person (myself) will be the operator with down payment help from family members.

I haven't done a down payment since 2015 and have 9 doors including my personal residence. 

I joined the program, please reach out to me personally and I’ll share with you my personal experience.  

However, it has to be a rental for it to work as a DSCR loan and you cannot be living in it or using it for personal use in any capacity as a DSCR loan is for business purposes only. 

There is no correct path for a particular person, it just has to work for you.