Real estate agents can help you with comparables.

We have a pretty large lot, .71 acre and are thinking about building a tiny/small house on the back side of our lot and renting our current house(3 bed 2 bath) either through airbnb or traditional tenants.

A successful short-sale typically benefits the borrower (homeowner) in the following ways: it can give them more time in the house (and payment-free); it is better than a foreclosure from a credit report perspective and wold allow him to obtain a new purchase loan for a new home in the future more quickly as compared to having it go through foreclosure.I would encourage you both to reach out to a local realtor with short-sale experience and have them facilitate the transaction, it would not cost you or the owner the commission as it would be paid out of the bank's proceeds.No, in a short-sale I would definitely not offer any payments to him directly that are not known and approved by the bank, you can get yourself in hot water and probably legal trouble by doing that on a short sale.

I've tried the traditional loan, but my credit is not what it needs to be.  

I want to skip trace for cold calling, come to find out after comparing property address and names to what's recorded in the county assessors office; they are different.

If I'm using traditional model for 1-3 units and outsourcing management at 10%, after collecting rent (let's say $1,000 per month per unit), mortgage, taxes, insurance, vacancy, maintenance and management, I should be able to cash flow around $300 depending on taxes at 100% occupancy.

I currently own five SFH rentals and would like to know my options with those compared to purchasing something/s new which the exchange.

I plan to use a traditional 30yr fixed owner occupant loan.  

I've also seen it at Home Depot and Lowe's but not in many varieties.Product seems like the best of both worlds and at a comparable price point to standard LVP. 

Which one is better: FHA or a traditional loan?