Hi Sohail, I've got a great commercial lender that I have used personally and my clients have used for various commercial deals.

I've done both personally. 

Another issue is these homes have standard 15-30 year loans in my personal name ..... so that is another issue ! 

If the buyer certifies that they are going to use it as the primary resedence and it has a use and occupancy permit that alows use as a personal residence then I don't see why a lender would not. 

If it is a multi-unit property, and you are the tenant without the cat, your agreement is with the landlord and it is their problem.IF you are either the landlord or the person with the cat, its the tenant with the cats problem. 

Your paying for expertise, guidance and with the right person you will potentially save thousands in other ways. 

I am personally staying away from STR‘s and MTR‘s because of its inconsistency.

You have code enforcement issue in one of those cities and they do not know you, your life is not going to be easy meanwhile the person who has been there for 10 years and knows the inspectors families name will have a very different outcome than yours. 

My 2 cents would be that since it is your personal property that your CPA is right but im far from a tax professional!

Sometimes people who are comfortable managing the details of a job will hire a less skilled person to do it knowing they can get a MUCH better price and a "decent" job IF they themselves stay on top of how the work is being done.