It has been in the shop repeatedly and cost several thousand dollars to repair.

Anyhow, I am shopping for landlord carpet now, not primary residence carpet.

(Simplified of course) Well, yeah people think about it beforehand...that's what makes them go to the gun shop and buy a firearm in the first place!

This doesn't fit the situation you described exactly, so it's still a bit of a gray area, but here's what I found:  Mixed-Use Properties- Properties that have a business use in addition to their residential use, such as a property with space set aside for a day care facility, a beauty or barber shop, or a doctor’s office are eligible per the following:  Property must be a one-unit dwelling that the borrower occupies as a principal residence  The borrower must be both the owner and the operator of the business  The property must be primarily residential in nature  The dwelling may not be modified in a manner that has an adverse impact on its marketability as a residential property. 

I mean maybe for this specific Credit Union lender they might only do 5/1 ARMS on investment properties but that is far from a "rule" in financing, there are plenty of lenders who will finance your rental properties out there with a 30-year fixed rate loan if you shop around even a little bit

Did you shop around?

When or if it comes time to refi or purchasing shop your options, I would say not all lenders are created equal and what I mean by this is with Sasha and I both being brokers we may have options that your hometown bank or credit union may not, and what it cost to buy down the rate is different from lender to lender. 

Talk to your local community bank about pre-approval or pre-qualifying, then shop B and C class areas for investments.

I've listened to @David Greene's podcast and bought the book - and now here I am, sitting in a Greensboro, NC coffee shop documenting my journey so far. 

I would set up shop back in TN for buy and holds (or another mid-west state)... make money there and live here.