Not sure how the rules work for a personal residence that you turned into a rental.

The standard mileage rate is subject to certain rules and you must choose to use it on the first year you have the car then on later years, you can choose between the 2 methods whichever will give you the most deduction. 

The rents tend to be bit soft [not quite meeting the 1% rule], but I like the potential appreciation due to the schools / area. 

@Saul Moreno One of the most important rules is really to know yourself and have a impeccable personal discipline.

Not necessarily but more like an institutional lender that doesn't follow Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac rules. 

So the max gross rents from the park will be $315x18 = $5,670/month (tenant owned homes).If I paid sticker $289k that's the 1.9% rule.

I’ve been trying to find deals that will benefit me 3-4 years down the road when I move out and rent both units, here’s my question: is there an equivalent to the 1% rule when owner occupying?

Aside from that, my reasons for choosing Charlotte were that :It has a strong economy with a variety of industries & a growing tech sceneThe avg rent-to-income in Charlotte is around 27%, which makes it pretty affordable for tenantsThe rent to home price ratio was relatively high (2% rule, though it looks like it may need to be more of a 1% rule, as with other places)It's generally safe, with crime trending downward over the last 10 yrsNet inbound migration was highHome appreciation was up, but not ridiculously so like some other markets (like my home state in CO)It's near to several other potentially attractive markets if Charlotte _didn't_ work out for us, like Raleigh, Nashville.All these factors lead me to believe Charlotte is going to be a good place to acquire buy & hold rental properties and try my hand at a new business.

. $14/night AirBnB tax, and letting renters pay their deposit over the first 6 months of the lease, among other ridiculous laws), as well as increasing my property taxes 25% this year to pay for their wasteful spending, versus a more conservative government in Phoenix garnering less property tax and more relaxed rental rules.  

The IRS describes 6 different methodologies: detailed engineering from actual cost records, detailed engineering using cost estimation, survey or letter, residual estimation, sampling or modeling and rule of thumb.