Any body can refer me to an excellent RE mentor?

They leaned a ton.

I am leaning towards houses with basement suites in C/B neighborhoods in the larger cities here.

Yes, while there is debate about the material status, I would lean towards MFS unless there is a tangible benefit for filing separately. 

Is the gov lean against the property owner or the property itself?

If they cannot agree, the referees shall at once appoint an umpire, and the award by a majority of such body shall be made within 10 days after the appointment of the umpire and shall be final between the parties.

The white body and black trim was/is popular in SoCal...

Cash is like the blood flow through your body.  

I would lean towards keeping it given the low interest loan.This would depend on what your anticipated net income would be after the rehab and it being 100% rented.

I'm starting to lean towards this having enough problems that despite the massive monthly cost savings, this program just is not consistent and reliable enough if this is your business instead of a hobby.