Hope this helps, best of luck! 

This would significantly help my ability to afford the market from a house hack standpoint, but I want to understand what those tax advantages are renting out my basement as a business rental.

I would contact a realtor in that area to get a deeper scoop on this. 

Growing business with networking is a wonderful opportunity, but with no experience in the RE space in the Triangle, I'd recommend you spend all of your time learning the market with this much runway.

This would be our first rental and we would be living out of state.

I know there’s many methods but I think this is the simplest one.

How did you finance this deal?

Studying successful investors through books, seminars, or online content can provide valuable insights.When evaluating potential borrowers, conduct thorough due diligence.

Should I take this on or pass because she’s asking too much?

This last March a used the 5% down program to buy a duplex in NH.