If you are looking to fix and flip, just make sure you look for a 12 month term, non-dutch interest on the rehab funds (this means you do not pay interest on the rehab money until you use it), no prepayment penalty, and avoid any lenders that escrow your payments at closing.

@Mary LopezThere are second tier lenders out there (non-banks) that will do small balance commercial. 

Unless those items are all satisfied (except for housing violations and some non-monetary liens which follow the property), the department of finance will not allow the deed to pass through to the next stop in the recording process.So even if you wanted to dump a property that was totally upside down with liens to someone who was willing to take it from you, you can't do it.

I've seen you post a few times about 70% max leverage but 75% is widely available, at lease with non-conventional 30Y DSCR loans.  

However, every company I find either doesn't insure non-owner occupied units or is extremely expensive.

My background involves social work & non-profit management before getting into real estate.

@Sam Fujii Has to be non recourse.   

Other distractions include non income-producing activities - aka any distraction pulling you to do something other than speaking with and following up with people.How can I prepare myself?

I recommend you find our podcast listen to the analysis and then contact Adam who is a St Paul expert.

I started by setting aside a percentage of my income every month, treating it like a non-negotiable expense.