Make it extremely clear which spaces are shared spaces and which spaces are specific to each unit.

I live in ATL as well and have 2 STRs in Gatlinburg that have been performing extremely well so just curious.Thanks.  

What I mean is that on most products on a investment property 2 unit building the max loan to value is going to be 70% or maybe 75% loan to value.

Moreover, you'll receive more favorable terms/rates utilizing a primarily home loan product than an investment loan. 

Know the lenders requirements for the loan types you will need.For instance you may find you need to have liquid cash of 9 Months P&I and 100% of the loan amount as your personal net worth in order to avoid personal guarantees on the loan, and your retirement accounts may not count towards your liquidity.Know the requirements of the loan products for the apartments you want to buy.There are no books for that, that I know of--just lenders info.Because without that all else is just scholastic exercise.Good Luck!

You probably can’t put locks on individual bedrooms because that would turn your building into a hotel (unregulated, unregistered).The polite description of your plan is “folly in the extreme.”

Verifying last 2 years of rental history and income extremely important to find the “best of the worst”.Make sure you understand the Class of properties you are looking at and the corresponding results to expect.The City of Detroit has 183 Neighborhoods we’ve analyzed.PM us if you’d like to discuss this logical approach in greater detail!

For example, if you plan on being a doctor, Attorney engineer, then college can be extremely valuable.

Not sure what that product is. 

Also be mindful of existing or proposed restrictions - I don't recall anything extreme proposed in Ludlow or Dover, but Wilmington is being very aggressive in all but eliminating STRs.