From all that I am hearing that sounds to be the best plan for me.

It sounds like both properties will be Qualified Use, so you are good there. 

Also, sounds like you plan to hold long term as it is so should be a non-factor. 2) Not as landlord friendly as other states - I agree here but our vacancy is generally so low that you can find the ideal tenants with proper diligence and screening.

KC is a pretty easy market to research online... due diligence isn't that hard with how well documented KC is.

Combining them is extremely easy and free.

Upfront, easy.  

It sounds like perhaps the investment was made in an LLC? 

Asking almost double what it was a few years ago is also problematic  The flood insurance issue is easy enough to determine.

As I've learned more about the markets I'm interested in, the first issue I found was that my ideal market (Charlotte) is super expensive, no multi family are available (apparently they weren't easy to build until recently bc of the city?) 

It is easy to start simple and go more complex as needed.