Values in my area have gone up significantly and I'm curious if getting them re-appraised would allow me to depreciate more money over the next 27 years.The duplex I live in is worth atleast $300k now ($100k increase) and identical duplexes as my new one are being sold by my builder right now for $360k ($85k increase).

It sounds pretty identical to my house hack and rental here in Arvada.

If the units are identical, you're going to have next to an impossible time evicting the current tenant. 

If the cost / rent per unit was identical I would do the SFH as it gives you more options on the back end.

At the last minute, landlord asks to do a background check which stalled for months and I claimed that it was because of identity theft issues.

My investing start is almost identical to yours (same age and everything). 

These do have replacement value add-ones because they are in hoas where you must rebuild the identical house within a year or give the lot back to the Hoa in the event of a total loss. 

Other than that, an SFH that operates as a duplex works just fine and is basically identical.

It is a mistake to lie about your identity.

These are identical properties (condos) same pricing