The economy is thriving in several areas -- pharmaceutical, medical, IT, Distribution centers, manufacturing, government defense, sports, convention center -- a wide variety, so we aren't depending on only one type of industry. 

I have seen some pretty poor appraisals with value opinions that are not well supported or credible.

Maybe if there were a crime spree terrorizing the entire county, but I'm not even sure about that.The bottom line, in business and in government is, "where is the money going to come from?"

The assumption here is that the US government will continue to be a government and will not default on its loans.

We attend local town meetings and have great relationships with the towns we operate in, which seems to help a great deal, but it still feels like STR's are at the mercy of decisions made by local governments.

Local governments haven't a clue as to the dramatic shift in the business they caused and ultimately higher rents and tighter standards they created. 

My question is, if I accept the payment (the assistance payment from the government to a low-income tenant), will my property be recorded by the government as "low-income" housing provider?

Just saw this on the local news this morning.Nothing changed yet, but maybe soon.https://louisvilleky.gov/government/planning-design/middle-h...

You in no way rented to a government entity. 

The rents reported by federal government and all calculators for my scenario all point to 250-400 dollars more than what was stated in 1007.