Often times they come back with a list of repairs that they would like to see to protect the home or mitigate liability. 90% of the time those items were on our list to fix anyway, and sometimes we even haven't done before we get the letter from the insurance company.

if you were only going to rent out a portion of the house as an STR that portion would have to be worth more than your exchange as well.

Some credit unions or local banks offer portfolio loans that don’t stick to the 4-unit limit, which could work well here.

So I would agree to instead get a lender that you can scale with.But it looks like you got a credit union to give you a good rate, better than most as well 

Another option is to look into some funds as well that allow smaller investments. some are anywhere from 500-$10,000 minimums and accept non accredited investors (through regulation a+).If you ran numbers of a loan paying p&i at 10% but ot being able to reinvest the principal payments you realize how low your returns actually are. so yes notes are great but also understand that idle money for any investment is not fun.

My client's have been happy with the draw process and response times as well.

I have been looking at sf homes with comparable SqFt to one of the units, as well as the units combined to try and get a feel for what this is worth.

The lender required me to quit claim out of my LLC which I use for asset protection.

. #4 should come from a solid agent referral as well

If that's the case, you might as well just pay them.