You must factor in the closing costs of the 2nd refinance as well to see any true savings. 

This is especially true if the previous owner didn't manage it well.My strong recommendation is to go ahead and change all locks and provide keys to them and for yourself.

Even if that isn't true in your state I wouldn't rely on that fact. 2.

Same is true for home inspectors.

While it is totally true you can make it own your own, the question becomes can you afford to (cost of mistakes), how fast are you looking to move without guidance/connections, and do you value being in a community with like-minded people actually making it happen?

This is also true if you have DSCR loans that do not report on your personal credit.  

While it's true that locking in rates for a longer term can seem counterintuitive during steep yield curve normalization, you can remove prepayment penalty altogether if you are comfortable with a higher interest rate.

None the less I still have a deep passion to move to the island.

I had a passion for real estate for quite sometime now but it was until i went into being a short-term rental agent and making sales of $12,222 from April to date that i saw that there is actually quite a huge demand for short term rental here in Tanzania and i can decide to not just be an agent but rather work myself up to becoming a real estate investor and get my own properties.That 12k, though in humble beginnings showed my that there's something here.

Hi Xavier, It’s great to see your ambition and passion for real estate!