It was a primary residence that we converted to an investment once we were ready to upgrade.

I’m not sure if it converts over to a Korean number though.. what you could do is put an addenda in place for means of communication and set up TenantCloud it’s completely free !

A buyout of the other 16 units and convert it to an apartment building with shared ownership?

You could look into just doing a rate and term refinance on your Florida property and convert it to a 30 year fixed if that's what you want.

Power washed and painted exterior, removed trees, new windows, painted front door, updated garage door and back door, added door entry from garage into house, new paint throughout the house, renovated 2 bathrooms (one of these bathrooms was a 1/2 bath that we converted into a full bath by combining the adjoining closet and rerouting the plumbing), added a kitchenette/kitchen in the basement.

Purchase price: $2,450,000 Cash invested: $425,000 •21 unit apartment building •Complete cosmetic remodel•Scope: Converted a maintenance room to a one bedroom unit bringing the total units in the building to 22.

What I do is, if it's going to be a while before the new tenant can move in, is have them sign a rental holding agreement and pay a non-refundable holding fee that later converts to their security deposit only after they sign the lease, pay the first month rent, and start all utilities in their name. 

Is there a way to avoid taking a 24% hit when converting?

I often look for 2/1 properties with unfinished basements that I can convert into 3/2s. 

@Dan Palumbo I'm not an expert on this scenario but I'm sure you would have less issue than if your were going the other way--i.e. converting single family to  duplex.