(Also, ask them who they use to design it.)

Also, I was considering subdividing or CPRing the property into 2 lots, one property lot with the current retail building, and another property lot for the site of the future 6 unit multi-residential building.   

- I maintain my W2 income job- My wife does the primary amount of work on the STR and logs 150+ hours in a calendar year (I see 100 hours listed in some sites, and 150 in others...)- We file our taxes as joint / married- Her tax deduction benefits from qualifying as a real estate professional from the STR can offset my W2 income. - She can use REPSTRACKER for thisI then of course have a plethora of other questions in terms of book keeping (tracking all purchases etc...) but I will save those for another time unless someone has the best offline resources I can start to learn from? 

Section 8 rents for the entire country by locality are on the HUD website, HUDuser.org look for Fair Market Rent (FMR) there. 

For anyone that hasn't used Doorvest, it's a simple website where you put a $1000 deposit and they send you curated list of houses they buy that need renovation, renovate, and then tell you a final purchase price along with guaranteeing things such as first year rent will be 100% covered by them even if they don't find tenants.

Conventional mortgages are designed for individuals to purchase homes, not for businesses.

Since you're a U.S. citizen living abroad, non-QM (non-qualified mortgage) programs designed for foreign nationals might be an ideal solution for your situation.

As a new investor, I simply don't have the budget for ListSource.com or the like, with prices between $0.14 and $0.18 per lead.

I have heard mention of some investors contacting local title companies and having them...

Partially so I can buy some cool manufactured homes and place on site of a single family homes in single family zoning. 

Often, the on-site agent will assist a buyer's agent who doesn't know much to get through the transaction because the agents on-site who work for the builder are on salary.