I've considering whether it makes sense to look at potentially converting it to a single family and enrolling the property in the college's off-campus housing program.

I've scaled up from there - eventually converting my furnished business from STRs to MTRs and converting most of my units from long-term tenants to MTRs.       

This would be a ten year initial commitment of my IRA converted Roth IRA dollars.  

Over time, Section 8 rents did not keep up with market rents for my properties, so I slowly converted them to market tenants.Pros of Section 8:You are likely to have families as tenants, so it is more common to have long-term tenants.These are lifelong renters, so you don't get calls for stupid stuff that really should be tenant's responsibility.Most are used to slum lords, so simply being responsive builds huge amounts of goodwill to you.Cons:the biggest one, for me, was the annual inspections.  

I am converting this back to a duplex, going to live in one half and rent out the other.

Yes the miles or points sound good but 3000 points generally can be converted to 1 cent in payment credit. 

Once the rehab is complete, the loan just converts into a regular mortgage, so no need to refinance and no second set of closing costs.As mentioned above, you haven't posted a ton of other details, so there may be a lot of variables, but I did a deal as a buyer in this fashion in the past.

Alternatively, you can convert your IRA into a "Self-Directed " IRA and buy investment real estate inside your SD IRA.

The first was a development project converting a motel into an apartment in Tucson.

The first was a development project converting a motel into an apartment in Tucson.