STR income -- The Fannie Mae guideline is that you can use income from a property if it is on your scheduled E.

I worked at Fannie Mae for a few years (during which happened to be under the previous administration) and the efforts to expand homeownership seemed much more tactful and balanced.

I just closed on a property today and the seller said the interior paint color is "summertime", the color that Fannie Mae painted all their foreclosure interiors at the time (2011). 

That commercial vs. residential distinction for the loan is based on Fannie Mae guidelines and has nothing to do with the IRS guidelines for taxes.For the appreciation question and the NAR data, note that that data is nominal.

I see all these great ideas above, however, I have addendums from Fannie Mae stating that you can't make more than _____ amount of what we are purchasing it for, and that just isn't possible.

If the loan was an ordinary Fannie Mae type loan, then getting that cash back is loan fraud.

@daniel hennessyCash out max on a 2 unit for a Fannie Mae product is 70% ltv. 

Also Fannie Mae offers a Homestyle Loan program where you can purchase a distressed 1-4 unit property put down 5% for a owner occupied and 15% for investor use.

If you are using a Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac (if you recognize those names) type of loan for this they have some very specific rules for these types of transactions and some that are somewhat vague.First, your downpayment requirement will be 10% down minimum. 

As far as I know, an investment property mortgage is an investment property mortgage, whether it is originated and funded by Wells Fargo and assigned to Fannie Mae, or originated by John Doe hard money broker and funded by Jane Doe investor.