If you work with a local community bank or credit union or some lender that doesn't sell to Fannie/Freddie in the secondary market, their guidelines and pricing could be different on this matter. 

Would anything happen if I just collected the money to pay the mortgage with no real book keeping?

Real Estate is a very litigious industry especially when dealling with tenants. 

ADUs can provide additional rental income, which can help offset mortgage payments or other expenses.Extend your homeowner's insurance to cover the ADU.Be prepared for potential increases in property taxes due to the added living space.Given that your property is not in a dense urban area, make sure to check specific local regulations as they may differ from city regulations.

Outside of real estate, I enjoy ultra running, taking in the outdoors however I can.

Make sure you put together a good local team to help. 

Oh yeah, it opens an artery on them, because the better DOMESTIC economy goes local small business wins. 

Regardless of the locale, most people who bought in 2021 and 2022 overpaid, and those prices are now correcting toward some semblance of normalcy.  

Is it any harder now to find a deal or is it the same as always, just a different group that learned that real estate actually does require work?

I hate to give the generic answer of asking a real estate attorney, but that would be the only true way to know your options that come about.