It could be that the property had the lower level finished since the last appraisal was done, but the only way to get this confirmed is to have a licensed appraiser go out and assess the property in person.

We grew rapidly at first, but for the last few years have been a bit stagnant and are not sure what the best next steps are to continue growing.

A GOOD property manager can go a long way, and potentially save money/discouragement that you are enduring.

It's a long short, but I figured I'll ask.

Where it gets murky is how much the IRS will scrutinize your time longs and those of your vendors. 

This means you could do 0% down on a $1M, $3M, $5M, etc. property as long as it's a residential property with 4 units or less. 

I understand the appreciation in Charleston over the last year was 9.8% so does that change the other pieces?

If you plan on staying long term lower down payment is not as meaningful as it is if you only plan on staying for a few years. 

With most of the mortgage brokers I know, there isn't a clause saying that you cannot rent out your second home as a vacation rental as long as you are still intending to use it personally.

I highly suspect maintenance/cap ex over long hold to be closer to $400/month than $132/month and it will in no way be $0/month and leaving it out to inflate the return for any reason including it has just been rehabbed or is new construction is absurd and misleading.