So the answer is somewhere in between 1 day and 2 years depending on how you can demonstrate your intent.I doubt if there would be much of a benefit If you're actually living there but pretending to rent to a family member. 

Let's pretend someone slips and falls, ends up in a wheelchair, and sues for $5 million.

(im not a lender and never pretend to be lol)Front our experience, Lenders usually look at your credit report, income, and tax returns to get a sense of your financial health.

You and I know there are pros and pretenders, just like there are honest investing coaching and snakes.

Just for good measure, I called the Kansas legal service, pretended to be a tenant that was being discriminated against.

You can't shoot from the hip, you will shoot your foot off.Let's pretend you get by the first step, your asset checks out in the appraisal process. 

Here's what I would do if I were in your situation today: 1- If you compete with multifamily properties, due to proximity, price, and/or size, I would call those close to your property (pretending to be potential tenant) and and see what they are doing to get their units rented.

let's pretend it's an estimated $150k in transaction costs (state, federal, repairs, agents fees ..from our accountant) to sell our 1st prop worth between $550-$600k  our accountant told us that would likely take a very long time to recoup and honestly I don't know where i would put the proceeds to maximize returns. 

I have no idea how long those type of windows (or any really) last, but pretend it is 40 years and they are 20 years old. 

Some agents, including one agent I cooled off for 30 days in particular, however, aren't even pretending to try to add value before swarming to posts about Columbus, Cleveland, Akron, etc.