Be careful with FHA some loans will keep the PMI for the life of the loan.  

Other option is giving a small portion of equity and splitting profits and ongoing costs evenly, but not sure how much equity to give or how to logistically buy their equity out later on if I want to keep the STR for life.

They are more likely to not pay there portion of the rent, more likely to destroy your house, and more likely to squat / drag out an eviction process as long as humanly possible. 

I am willing to be dollars to donuts that most of your Section 8 tenants are able-bodied humans intelligent enough to get a job and pay their way through life, but they somehow manage to milk the system.

It’s to take advantage of the 2024 bonus depreciation rules which include 60% bonus in year 1 for any life classes less than 20 years.

My entire life pops up on google.

The bottom floor is a permanent STR.At this point, living on the top floor of an STR no longer fits my life and while it has been somewhat profitable depending on the month, I can no longer handle the hassle of management and would be taking a loss if I used a standard airbnb property manager.

What would life look like for you Josh if you did just 10 of these properties, in grand total, and stopped there.

The lure to get the first deal can be so high that you leverage your entire life savings and beyond into a project where you don't know how to do anything.

The point of making money is to increase the quality of your life.