Regarding ceiling height, you must have 7 feet clearance. 

Except that the electrical required some fixing, so owner fixed it and another inspector from the county came in to check, they okayed the electrical but put a correction order and prohibited occupancy due to ceiling height is less than 7ft.

My understanding is that a smaller dog (weight restrictions?)

This is just a cost of doing business -- and hopefully a minor one at that.If a lender believes so many loans are falling through that they must enact punitive restrictions in their loan process, like charging up-front fees before closing, I’d suggest they tighten their marketing up to attract more suitable prospects.

Haven't looked into it much yet but was considering house hacking in the Spring and wasn't aware of restrictions. 

So even if you pick a state with stronger protections like WY or NV, the cause of action arose in the state where the tenant fell, so likely that the court where the accident happened would have jurisdiction.California tends to have more laws on the books and requirements and restrictions that it can be a good idea to form a CA LLC for out of state property so that you as a CA resident are covered, and to try to have your contracts fall under the purview of CA courts.

For example, my current residence I purchased at $267,900 but had to finance just over $273,000 due to those costs, which immediately resulted in a higher mortgage (granted not by much)Now the obvious Pro's are that you can get into a property with no, or low, money down but that does restrict you in the sense that you may not be able to get that $400,000 duplex, instead having to look at the $320,000 duplex around the corner that needs more work or worse tenants.

It does seem like the SD IRA has some very restrictive rules about loaning to yourself.What if my SD IRA makes a loan to my wife's LLC which buys the property?

Due to legal restrictions (search for Dodd Frank law) there can be very negative consequences to how it is structured.

Banks typically put deed restrictions in place that limit what can be done with the property after purchase.