We are new to renting our place out and logic tells me this is a  horrible idea because duh, but it really brightens up our space (it needs it) however I know it’ll be prone to getting dirty and showing it.  

I just learned the other day you can even throw a commercial space in there if it's less than 49% of the total square footage! 

Will be spending some time in this area and wanting to connect with other investors, particularly individuals in the short-term rental/VRBO space. 

I have experience in the large commercial space through my job and am interested in reading more about that from an investors point of view.

What I'm in the weeds with/end goal is to accurately determine the 'space' available on a parcel for an ADU or carriage house.

My lease is seven (7) pages long, well spaced, no fine print.

And nationally, in the single family space which is anything 1 to 4 units, inventory is extremely low. 

The appraiser might not count a garage as living space

In order for the deal to work for me as an investment, I would need to convert some of the living space into bedrooms.

My advice is thus:- a less risky way to get your feet wet in this space is to offer to manage someone else’s unit for 10% to 15% as a way to gain experience - This is way less risky and way less stressful as you are not on the hook for the lease, utils, supplies etc each month- if you are a real risk taker by nature and really want to get into arbitrage then the most profitable unit with the least amount of risk is likely going to be smallest studio apartment you can find.