Without knowing your rate on a HELOC, there is no way to compare the scenarios.

An appraiser is trying to compare apples to apples and nothing else.

I would then compare my property to those rent ads to help determine a price point, while ensuring that my price point was below the 1 bedroom apartment rentals.

You can show them your analysis or comparable properties to justify the price increase.

I know it's quite a bit more affordable than buildium but supposedly has better usability compared to the new apartments.com version of Cozy. 

Pretty affordable compared some nearby regions. 

., and even let them know which comps you used to determine your ARV and why they are comparable. 

It's faster and you can compare two (ie) roof colors on the fly.Have a rough budget to discuss with the Architect.

We don’t know any PMCs to recommend in the area mentioned, but since selecting the wrong PMC is usually more harmful than selecting a bad tenant, you might want to read our series about “How to Screen a PMC Better than a Tenant”:https://www.biggerpockets.com/member-blogs/3094/91877-how-to-screen-a-pmc-better-than-a-tenant-part-1-services-and-processesWe recommend you get management contracts from several PMCs and compare the services they cover and, more importantly, what they each DO NOT cover.

I also would recommend writing down a list of whats wrong with the home and estimate for repairs.Are you using the right comparables?