Thank you. you are going to have to report it one way or the other. if you spent $50K-60K on construction labor, IRS is going to ask you who did you pay all that money to?

In terms of exit strategy, I intend to keep the property long term. 

A tenant could stop paying and break every lease term not related to health and safety and you could not evict.  

Hi,My wife and I moved into our current place about a year ago, and converted our prior primary residence into a long-term rental.

Plus you can buy 5 properties using that same type of leverage; much better for building your long term wealth!

There are a whole lot of factors and differences among the options, even among lenders that fall under the "private lending" umbrellaSharing an article published last year that maybe can help and provide some more insights:https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/dscr-loans-terms-to-know

Google the term "Google Vacation Rentals".

Long-Term Goals: While predictions suggest that rates might drop in the future, there’s no guarantee on the timing or extent of these changes.

We have one vacation rental in Florida and a long term rental in Louisiana. 

If your contract doesn’t state terms for additional access, then I understand his concern, maybe ask if you can video the interior, although most tenants won’t want that.