Sometimes the tenant just doesn't know about them or their situation limits their ability to apply.

The ability to see the major issues before you buy is key especially when buying dilapidated early 1900's homes.

Educate yourself with resources like The House Hacking Strategy and practice analyzing deals using tools like BiggerPockets calculators.

How exactly would Shopify stifle our ability to scale?

Private money lenders are not always individuals (my company, for example), nor do they confine their lending practices to friends, family, and other investors they know.

I would send them a bill now, not 30 days from now, outlining the charges, even if they are just estimates.

Another common practice for nationally sparse datasets such as tax data is aggregation.

It is such a common practice for these management software companies to charge these fees, so I assume it is not an issue, especially since they are a third party and the fees cover more than just the credit checks.Any insight is helpful!

For large apartment projects, it is not practical to demand the return of all letters before closing.

From the commercial side you have more ability to force appreciation by increasing the NOI.