Meanwhile I'm having to add several hundred dollars to my monthly expenses for the purpose of 'principle paydown'.Principle paydown PALES in comparison to appreciation.

Quote from @Collin Hays: The real purpose of this thread was to increase my post count.  

Just to compare, imagine an eight-foot, single aluminum door. 

We really like the idea of being in a mountain/cabin area, but I worry about being able to find vendors (cleaning, repairs, etc.) as there doesn't seem to be too many STR's in this area to compare to. 

If in fact a Detroit place cost $100k at that time, it could be worth $288k but its purpose is not to imply a price point.it may be a subtle difference.

And, since you'd only be renting out rooms in the main living area, it would still all count as your primary residence sale - $250K of profit tax-free, and no need to do a 1031 exchange.If you were going to have more than the max in tax-free profit, or maybe build an ADU or something like that, you could separate the rented areas out and even depreciate them for tax purposes.

Insurance and LLC's serve different purposes.

They have to follow stricter requirements and there is more recourse, even in a business purpose loan. 

But once you subdivide the lot and develop or sell the new back units, those are likely treated as separate properties for tax purposes—and they won’t qualify for the same exclusion.

For example, he states that syndications and special purpose vehicles are one and the same.