Obviously choosing a designer or not will affect that price. 

If you choose to rent out both units, FHA is no longer an option - that only applies if you live there. 2.

Credit reporting is voluntary, and some credit card companies choose to work with only one or two bureaus, or even opt out entirely.

Many investors from expensive markets, are choosing to invest in the midwest because of the yearly returns making more sense in these lower priced markets.

So you need to choose.

There is a delicate balance somewhere between keeping legislation strong enough to protect homeowners, while also not burdening the industry so much that people choose to do work illegally as you suggested, or take unnecessary time to deliver a finished project (and thus a home for somebody in this case).

Then, there are other people who are quite sophisticated with their structures and choose to invest money on the structure (you'll hear references to Trusts)...and then you'll have people talk about piercing the veil....and you'll hear some people say that as long as you have enough insurance, you are fine....and others will say that you have to be careful about relying on insurance to protect in all matters.

If the numbers work it really does not matter what you choose.

If OP seeks passive returns, he should not be choosing residential RE. 

The family upgrade, the "just because" bigger home buyer, the empty nester downgrades, the 2nd home, etc are choosing to wait and see, due to news of inflation and interest rates.