Their are a limited number of portfolio lenders, you should explore the guidelines before you purchase the portfolio and put your 200k at risk.

You can only list the unit you occupy and you are limited to about 4 months a year

That would limit your purchase to $400k.

It seems to me that some portion of the house purchase/reno/outfitting should be able to be claimed as a business expense, but I have no idea how to correctly do so. 

Does this sound like a good idea?

If you’re talking in city limits you might have a permit problem because they are ridiculously annoying to work with for even regular construction, outside of city limits though, especially outside of allegheny county I assume you’d have an easier go at it. 

I use Ferrell-Calhoun, but they are a Southern company with limited availability outside of the South.

There is obviously a formal lease, and we also supplement with a room mate agreement which outlines the more specific things like overnight guests and expectations in dispute resolutions/ cleaning/ care for the home and appliances, etc.I haven't received one formal "LL request" email yet, other than a formal 30 day notice in the event of a move out, which is usually after they've come talked to me in person about it to begin with. if there's an issue, it tends to be pretty limited to "hey, we have this shower rod falling off"... which im usually here to deal with (and tbh most of the time they like to fix it up with me), and it doesnt need to turn into a big thing. as for keys, i have the house on a yale smart lock, so 'handing over keys' is just official move out, walkthrough of the room for damages, and then I can delete their access code and access to the smart home systems without having to re-key the house. 

Other carriers were limiting to 6 months. 

It is always a good idea to call the city before purchasing a burned home to inquire about the necessary permits and regulations for renovation.