Listening to non-licensed , non-practicing wanna-bes can get you into some serious trouble, or at least some serious losses, tax or otherwise, as well as lost oppurtunity.

Most state laws say the practice of "Real Estate Brokerage" is "for compensation, putting a buyer and seller together" So now we are saying that even recommending a property is illegal.In most states, only if "for compensation" I told my instructor how I found a BEAUTIFUL Detroit home . . .

Disclaimer: While I’m an attorney licensed to practice in PA, I’m not your attorney.

The good thing about the area is there are many small lenders willing to adapt different lending practices 

Looking for some best practices/ advice on how to best calculate replacement costs when analyzing MFRs.

I often have a difficult time with hyper-inspirational stories and posts, as they are usually heavy on sentiment and lack practical guidance, but I think you've struck the appropriate balance here. 

Even after investing significant man hours into identifying and categorizing nearly all the sources of private funding for real estate investments, I can say for sure that choosing the right lender for any particular deal takes practice. 

Fortunately I have got to the point where the cash flow is really starting to take off making contracting more practical.

Is this not standard practice?

The BRRR strategy which you will hear a lot about on here sounds good and all and a lot of people practice it but personally for me I would rather work on paying off properties than occurring more debt.