From a business standpoint, I always recommend separating your STR financials into a dedicated checking account. 

"M" is common vernacular in the financial industry for "Thousands". 

If you do not sell before a financial bump in though road occurs it will be too late and you will likely lose it all.

We’ve passes on applicants with good financial profiles who wanted to make changes to the lease or the apartment because, as qualified as they were otherwise, they were not willing to rent under our terms.

I would suggest age 50 or 60-89, 20+ year ownership, single family home and specify a home value range.You can also specify Low Financial Stability Scores to find people who are more likely to be motivated sellers.

I am hoping this will increase my holdings and reach my financial goals in a shorter time period than residential.

You'll see the numbers clearly, what it will cost, and what benefit is projected, and make an educated decision yourself (with the counsel of your CPA) and stop giving money to the IRS, that they allow you to keep!

I worked my way through college as a teller at Pnc bank for 5 years, which gave me a a solid financial knowledge foundation.

Here's my plan:I want to be financially independent by selling my personal residence and investing the proceeds to pay my living expenses.If I net 180k from the sale and use 10k toward the downpayment on my next residence, I'll have 170k left to invest.

You never want to start looking at properties that are ultimately going to be out of your price range, so a pre-approval helps to get you focused financially.