Long term upstairs/short&medium term downstairs

[Trace Adams]

Hi all!

I am looking at investing in an out-of-state property that is a 5 BR, 3 BA which is a 3/2 upstairs and 2/1 in the finished basement. There is also a full kitchen and laundry in the basement. There is not a separate entrance to the basement, but the stairs to the basement are in a laundry room in the back part of the house. My thought is if I bought the property I could rent the upstairs and downstairs separately, perhaps the upstairs as a LTR and the basement as a STR/MTR hybrid, or STR/MTR hybrid both upstairs and downstairs. Curious of a few things for those that execute this strategy currently:

-The city the property is in has a no more than 4 unrelated people rule, would that be an issue for me if all bedrooms were full or does the fact the basement tenants would be short or medium term save me?

-How do you manage thermostat and temp difference between up/down stairs (assume basement will be a lot cooler)? 

-How do you manage utilities since everything will be shared?

-How do you manage the general vibe between up and down stairs tenants? I.e. what if one doesn't get along with the other

-Any benefits to trying to officially convert it to a duplex with the city if it is zoned to allow MF? If not, any legal considerations for running a SFH as a duplex?