Sorry agents, but if I had a choice I would cut out the middle-man(men) too. 

yeah i think you made the right choice :) happy to hear you were able to get even more rent.  

For those with natural gas or propane, they can be a great choice.

I think VCSH is a great choice too.  

John, I am in a similar situation, looking to diversify out of SFR in my local market and towards small investments in commercial real estate through crowdfunding but I am also not yet an accredited investor.I've found a ton of great information browsing BP as well as a lot of good informational material on a site maintained by @Ian Ippolito -- He provided this advice in another forum: "If you are nonaccredited, there are a lot fewer national choices: Richuncles, RealtyMogul and Fundrise.

Lender of your choice needs the other appraisal to be able to find out.

If renting would be the better choice, are there any investors that have a property that could accommodate them and their animals?

I will be working as a manager of strategic partnerships at an asset management company that also has property management.I found BiggerPockets while looking to learn as much as I could about the business before I even took the job.

@ Tim Saboha you must not have ever read any of the previous lazy landlord postsThe series is mostly dedicated to the novice DIY person Strategizing how to tackle jobs that are do able but can seem dauntingThe first where I painted one of the same houses that I am now considering farming out.The lazy in lazy landlord is tongue in cheek.Although I am prepared to do what I can in a property as I acquire more It becomes less efficient So the series evolves as my business model evolvesPerhaps I will paint some and not othersAnother thing to consider A great painter can make a house look stellar where as a novice can make it look quite cheapI have an extremely high standardMy apartments usually are the best in town for the money.My profile pic is my latest apartment By the way I did the floors.So don't take me too seriously In just doing my part to share my experiences in he forums 

If you use your name then you could apply for a low interest rate conventional loan but if you use business or LLC name then you have to apply for a commercial loan with higher interest rate.My money is on conventional loan, they only allow 4-10 of those loans anyways and then you have no choice but to go with portfolio or commercial loans.