The only obstacle you might encounter would center around the IRS and your filing status as an American living abroad.You may find this link helpful if there are any questions on your obligations.

I've now spoken with a number of other lenders and all seem to be leaning towards an SBA package.

I hadn't really considered them separately, as they're sort of packaged together, but they really are different animals and can't easily be evaluated as a single entity.

Your regular insurance policy will likely not cover an accident if the car was rented as part of the STR package.

They say one year as well if you are getting a primary home rate, but I have most certainly not followed that to a T and have heard from the horses mouth (secondary market investors) that it is not enforced and that what they constitute as mortgage fraud would be more along the lines of getting two primary home loans at the same time.I could explain my specific situations I have encountered to you more if you wanted to message me.Forrest Faulconer

A good friend of mine is a commercial broker with Marcus & Milichap in NYC and he tells me about his deals where his clients will buy buildings, put long-term tenants in those buildings, and package the building with the lease at a 5-8% cap. 

I went through the process to set this up in CA and you have an extra page or two (depending on font size) and the meters need to be tested every ten years-I.e. this is likely the most difficult regulatory burden you would encounter.

Part of the relocation package is to keep my current home and be given a sum of money based on my current homes worth to buy a second home.

Then they’re packaging up these loans and selling them to investors.

I've purchased and sold property in multiple states and don't recall ever seeing that form at closing (and I read every page of every closing document package)If it's a standard form and just got missed, I'd sign it and move on assuming you understand it and it makes sense to you.