Deciding what to invest in can definitely be overlwhelming since there's so many roads for real estate.

Owners mistakenly ASSUME all PMCs offer the exact SAME SERVICES and PERFORM those services EXACTLY THE SAME WAY, so price is the only differentiator – so, they often select the first PMC they call or that calls them back!

So which of these houses should I live in? 

You might be in acquisitions in bulk so the question is valid, but not for the majority of investors out there who always should see a property before making an offer.

We do a good job with marketing, so we are able to charge 1/2 mon.

If it was me I would allow the tenant to handle the situation, but since you are asking the question, I would say an addendum is probably a good idea either direction you decide to go in, just so it's clearly spelled out to everyone.

One Point is 1% of the loan amount, so if your loan is 300K, then one point would be 3K.   

So most of my clients implement and STR strategy with the option to MTR as back up. 

There are lots of lenders out there that specialize in different things and have different workarounds. by working with the same broker, they'll understand where your priorities lay and since they have a better understanding of your experience, they can push for exceptions that wouldn't normally be approved.I myself am a broker so I may be a bit biased here, but if you do feel that your current broker isn't very good or that they are overcharging you then you can certainly explore other options.

So it's a conventional owner occupied loan with 20% down.