An attorney will generally not have the scale of practice to focus solely on 1031s.  

I envision adding 1 to 2 SFR properties a year for the next couple of years before hopefully scaling up, and I am considering out of state properties.If you were starting new and had my circumstances, would you create an LLC immediately or what approach would you take?

We have one STR now with plans to scale.

Partner with someone who has a solid track record and you can mitigate that risk in order to achieve the best risk-adjusted returns in real estate -- not to mention the economies of scale and superior tax advantages. 

While I anticipate more work will need to be committed to rehabbing any house under a $50k valuation, is it often that full-scale gut-jobs or highly expensive renovations should be expected?

After going over options and my goals, I would find it better to flip this property to accurate the equity to go out and scale off this sale.

Buildium and Rent Manager costs scale with portfolio size.

We plan to scale our STR biz and then invest more passively down the road by buying more LTRs, etc.

On a scale of 1 to 10, the condition of this property is a 9 having already been rehabbed by the prior owner.

I think if that happens then we might see an uptick in delinquency and THAT could be the thing that tips the scale in favor of buyers.