With your primary residence, things can be pretty straight forward in terms of splitting mortgage interest, real estate taxes etc. on your returns.If you go into a rental property, there are a lot of considerations to think about.

@Emily Shin landlord experience is invaluable for a career in rental real estate.It's not something you may want to do long term, but the experience can help you select and manage PMCs.

You are still exiting with a refinance and thus the terms wouldn't change on the exit whether you are buying in cash and then refinancing versus doing a construction loan and then refinancing.

Look at DSCR loans for more competitive terms.

With countless loan options, complex terms, and strict lending criteria, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed.

Refinancing: If the lender doesn’t approve, refinancing under the LLC might be required, but LLC loans typically come with stricter terms and higher rates.3.

Is the mid term rental business that you have a 'rental arbitrage' business?

The East Rock area of New Haven (near Yale) is a huge outlier in terms of pricing, very expensive. 

The reason you would hire a licensed professional is to assist with you not gettting SCAMMED and help you with negotiating prices and terms...based upon State Law. 

What were some mishaps along the way in terms of the contract?