Santa Marta has nice beaches but that has already been built up almost Rio Style.

White shaker, oak shaker, or a light gray shaker style is fairly classic and timeless.

I think it will be unlikely to find a commercial-style loan for a multi-family property at anything less than 20% down...they will likely be 25% or more at this point. 

Just not the flavor of investing that fits my style!  

The graduate school is less than 10 years old and still adding programs, and while dozens of people have begun converting old of homes/office spaces to rental units to capitalize on this obvious opportunity, it remains an investors paradise.The situation:The house is a ~1400 sq ft brick ranch style home on a good plot of land that we recently had surveyed and parceled into two individual lots.

Actually there is and it's very popular and can be found here https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/67-rehabbing-...Your question depends on the style of the house and the price point.

Are there specific features/styles of homes that perform really well in the area beyond the traditional log cabins?

There's an area in Venice called Wellen Park that seems to be an up and coming area, very family oriented. 

Consider emerging suburbs, transit-oriented areas, and revitalization zones.

The communities I've seen have had rural style asphalt roads and look pretty straightforward.