We have a ton of investors here in western North Carolina that just lost much of their wealth, so I like the new features regarding flood risks.

You may have a unique property.Many DSCR lenders use idcide.com for their rural designations. 

The rent is guaranteed by other tenants, the regional chapter or the state will pay the rent.Those podcasts are designed to attract eyeballs.

Some H&R folks have earned the designation Enrolled Agent or EA.

For under $300k, both shipping containers and modular homes can be great options—modular might offer a bit more flexibility with design. 

Before you move ahead is there a particular reason why having this commercial space is important to the project or are you building this design because that's what the zoning requires?

I think the top factors are type of home (comparing single family to apartment is no longer done), overall size, and interior features like central AC, approximate age of renovation, etc.

Our understanding is that if we designate the $60K as "OPTION CONSIDERATION" - these funds and the USE of these funds are NOT Taxable to the property seller UNTIL one of two things happen; # 1 the OPTION gets exercised, or # 2 the OPTION gets cancelled.

If your property has appealing features like a pool and a nice backyard, it could still attract buyers, especially families.

I have used Blink cameras, which are battery operated with great features, but they have to connect to a WiFi network.