I am an office dwelling, "white collar" w-2'er.

For example in San Diego, there is a lot of demand for additional dwelling units, and what I’m trying to do is network with architects so I can help them draft their plans.

As others have pointed out, zoning can be interesting and may not allow for it to be rented out at all, let alone if you intended to cash flow on the primary dwelling as well as an accessory unit.

I dont even know what sort of flooring it was fortunately the warping was confined to the kitchen all I need to do is tile the kitchen and it is a simple fix.Laminate is definitely still in the running however as is vinyl simply because this rental may just be a section 8 dwelling.

As soon as you have a tenant you will need to change the insurance to dwelling fire insurance, where the home will be insured to 100% replacement cost.If you would like me to run some quotes for you, I would be happy to.

We have those factors working for us here in the Seattle area so people will always move here and seek dwellings in higher-than-average numbers :).

If the dwelling unit or common area are damaged or destroyed by fire or casualty to an extent that the dwelling unit is in material noncompliance with the rental agreement or with Section 5-12-070, the tenant may: (1) Immediately vacate the premises and notify the landlord in writing within 14 days thereafter of the tenant's intention to terminate the rental agreement, in which case the rental agreement terminates as of the date of the fire or casualty; or (2) If continued occupancy is lawful, vacate any part of the dwelling unit rendered unusable by the fire or casualty, in which case the tenant's liability for rent is reduced in proportion to the reduction in the fair rental value of the dwelling unit; or (3) If the tenant desires to continue the tenancy, and if the landlord has promised or begun work to repair the damage or destruction but fails to carry out the work to restore the dwelling unit or common area diligently and within a reasonable time, notify the landlord in writing within 14 days after the tenant becomes aware that the work is not being carried out diligently or within a reasonable time of the tenant's intention to terminate the rental agreement, in which case the rental agreement terminates as of the date of the fire or casualty.

Since you are dealing with just two states you may want to look for an Agent versed in Apartment & Rental dwellings in that state.  

All residential dwellings including multifamily (even 300 units building etc.) are all considered residential and depreciate over 27.5 year period, even though from a lending perspective it's considered commercial. 

My single family rentals are outperforming multifamily dwellings right now(small sample size- I'm almost exclusively in multifam.)