If I were to rent out the second level, but the house is not permitted as a multi-family or mother daughter,  could I be personally liable if there was a fire?  

I am very mindful of the next recession, and I feel like there will be many "fire sale" opportunities in the next 2 years....

Cost to evict: $3,500 (supposedly a great deal) Perhaps the biggest one: Capex above estimated allocation or before reserves can be built up— Roof, Sewer Line, Windows, Appliances, Decks, Driveways/Parking Lots, Furnaces, Hot Water Heaters, Foundation/Structural issues, Fire escapes, Plumbing issues like sewer line backing up and raw sewage flooding a basement unit or a water heater malfunctioning and dumping 100’s of gallons into the building, overflowing tubs due to clogged drains and clueless tenants, broken/leaky pipes, etc. there are a lot of expensive things that will go wrong with every property.

Looks nice.See this glass shade:  https://www.homedepot.com/p/Westinghouse-8-1-2-in-Handblown-Long-Fire-Pit-Neckless-Glass-Shade-with-2-1-4-in-Fitter-and-4-1-2-in-Width-8573000/204836304Baths are white painted vanities and 4 bulb light bar. 

(Yeah unsafe.)I also took out the 1950 pink plastic tiles in the kitchen and am putting in drywall, new flooring, so will add a dishwasher, new water heater, etc. as I have the kitchen down to what should have been studs (another story, plastic covered historic fire damage, no studs).I might not get more money, but hope to get better quality renters to choose from.

it's that the western coastal markets ARE exactly as the prior members have posted...these are long-term, buy-and-hold, get-rich-slow, appreciation markets where short-term, quit-my-job-now-using-the-cash-flow-from-my-rental-properties, FIRE strategies work only in the rarest of the rare scenarios. 

We drove by the house to see it in person first and found several sort of big things wrong: the gravel driveway was more grass than gravel, the back yard was about 20 feet from door right up to railroad tracks, and (BIGGIE) my hubby went around the back and saw char on the back of the house, seemingly from a fairly recent fire (which wasn't disclosed on realtor (dot) com of course).

I actually own a cleaning company that I created because I fired everyone on the island for my STR’s that we manage.

The one over the garage would bother me code wise unless it has the upgraded fire proofing required for apartments above garages.

@Charlie Moore if you worked in any customer service and responded with a bad attitude or a temper you’d probably be fired.