Another idea for housing economy if you have an office is to rig your office to live in but not sleep in. 

Me and my partner moved from Utah to Maryland for school recently and we have a townhouse that we are looking to rent. we are currently remodeling and changing a few things before renting. what are the first steps to change my primary to a rental I lived there for about two years.

Hopefully, not an expensive tenant or Fair Housing lawsuit.100% of what @Travis Biziorek states is true, but he left out a key fact - he lived in the Detroit area when he started investing here, so was able to self-manage and meet everyone he had to hire face-to-face.

You have the ability to sell while limiting your capital gains tax because you lived in 2 of the last 5 years. 

I'd level up with a BRRRR, live-in flip, or house-hack before jumping into a challenging renovation.

I live in the greater Maryland  area.

Your primary residence - if you've lived in it for 2 out of the 5 years prior to selling you'll get the $250K/$500K tax free iike @Clint Galliano said. 

I truly believe she had a medical condition and shouldn't even live in my house, should probably live in elderly housing or the like.

I'd recommend house-hacking a duplex or triplex if possible to help limit your living expenses.

If you live in your short-term rental (STR) property in a future year after claiming depreciation, depreciation recapture does not occur immediately.