It does seem like the owner is less of a landlord and more of a glorified RA.If you can find the right tenants and live there as long as possible to make sure care is given to the space, I believe that will go along way.

Their 1 year lease end Oct 31st, even if they are able to keep paying rent, albiet late, should I plan to let them know I wont be renewing their lease at the end of the term?

The collaboration between Partner Driven and Seth was key to negotiating favorable terms and ensuring a successful outcome.

The house will be used as a short term rental.   

My husband and I are building 6 new construction units in Spartanburg, SC that we intend to find long term renters for. 

My current primary ( scenario 1) Keep the primary for the life of the loan ( current rate is 4.5 so i dont see my self refinancing anytime soon)current home value 1,150,000Loan amount 935,000appreciation estimate 5% per year after a 28 year hold and the house is paid off I would have a house worth 4,312,000$my current mortgage is 6125$ ( piti) included My second option( scenario 2) Sell the house, walk away with $150 ,000 ish in hand and put that into a low cost index fund Rent a house elsewhere for about 3000$ ish and take the extra 3000$ im saving everymonths from not having to pay my mortgage and puting that money in the index fund as well I ran the numbers on both of these scenarios and doing what I mentioned above would break even at about 28 years meaning my stock account would be worth 4.3 million just like my house would , but the only is that holding a house for 28 year would mean 28 years of property taxes, loan interest ,home insurance and repairs etc whick I calculated to be about 1,200,000$ at minimum which raised my eyebrows to say the least Also i understand that each of these options ( stock market vs real estate ) will have there tax consequences ( long term capital gains) so any thoughts on that would be appreciated as well.  

Short-term sacrifices and delaying gratification will bring you abundance later in life.Definitely take advantage of your first-time home buying benefits and consider house hacking a duplex or 4-plex.

Can anyone advise based on their experience which will be cheaper in the long run?

How long have you been working on that? 

It has a free plan, although I opted to go for the long dollar and spend $7 a month so I can make use of its automated workflows :)Do a quick search and check it out; perhaps it'll serve your needs.