My wife and I own it together, but i may be able to buy her out and keep it as a short-term rental without spending all my personal capital.I’m looking for advice on financing options, buyout strategies, and any creative solutions others have used in similar situations.

I haven’t personally heard of anyone going the SB1079 route, but I have done some research on it.

It is very common for the typical bank mortgage person to make this mistake. 

It is very time consuming to get permit approvals and you may be in a position where you need to extend, pay fees, etc.. when your loan is past due.   

If the person stops making payments, they alas,  have to foreclose.

Do you all have any in-person meet ups?

@Mark Towey I don't "farm" areas personally, it doesn't really fit the niche I'm personally going after, but what I have heard from some major agents in my market lately is that farming is not near as productive as it used to. 

I email all my documents as pdfs with password protection, then I text the passwords to the person receiving them. 

If you don't look at them before buying in person, you will get burned at some point and regret it.   

I can do the parade of horribles for a personally owned rental property but suffice it to say that it is a long and robust parade and the horribles are horrible.