You will be better off using a pre-foreclosure website and then a skip trace website to locate the owners.

The current owners have no desire to get the proper Certificate of Occupancy for the half bath and we're using a traditional lender (big bank) so we think this will be an issue to get a mortgage.1. 

I was expecting to be taxed ONLY on the ~$1,000 profit I showed, but apparently that's not how it works (I'm not a newbie, but this was a newbie mistake that I only became aware of because I finally started using a real accountant and not H&R block).

Then you can proceed with the design as needed by the appropriate professional.My advice is do not try to tackle a project like this without using a qualified GC.

I would ask them to pay rent using a credit card and deal with paying the money later.Otherwise, you can either choose to run a business or a charity.  

And you can play that game till they get tired.Just beware of the risk associated with transferring using a Quit-Claim-Deed:  A person receiving a purported real estate interest via a quitclaim deed may receive no legal right to the property whatsoever.

If you do decide to establish one, you can transfer the property from your personal names to the LLC using a Quit Claim Deed.

I'm a foreign national myself and am currently refinancing a duplex in FL using a DSCR loan, and doing everything without going to the US!

Most of the time when we do this we aren't using a "cash out" refinance but rather a "no cash out" refinance.  

Analysis linked below: Bigger Pockets Rental analysis  On a 10 unit, the rate will be higher than 7.5% using a DSCR product which will eat into your monthly cash flow, but it still looks like a good deal.