You are going to be paying a 1.5% - 2.0% premium over a 5-year fixed (even more off a 5-year variable).Check with your insurance company and see what size chunk they are going to extract from you for the fireplace.  

I think it's mostly a way for them to cover their a$5 (seller must warranty some items such as roof leaks and plumbing for 2 years after sale, by law), and I'm not sure that it really meaningfully extends the life of the roof.

We want to lend money, get paid, lend money, get paid, etc etc...We don't WANT to have to foreclose and become the owners - we just have to account for that possibility.IMO, all of my requirements have a good, sound reason behind them, they aren't just there to extract as much return as possible.

I own a REIA, it is 30 years old, we do not promote outside products for sale and the cost of the meeting is freeI am not promoting this REIA, I just want you to know that you have alternatives when it comes to these REIA meetings.You should be warned that there are sharks circling around these meetings looking for the inexperienced to sell something or somehow extract money from.

If they just bought something already cash flowing there was not any value to extract.

It's impossible to answer meaningfully as there's no criteria state to make the evaluation.Consider:  customer serviceclear and easy to understand documentationlargest inventory selectively chosen inventoryable to present the properties that match your budget and preferencesthat list is the tip of the iceberg as it could go on for pages.I get this all the time with computers and software - - we all fall into this  trap from time to time.

I hope to learn from the BP community and to leverage my experience and knowledge in the finance/development/construction field of real estate to provide meaningful insight and valuable answers to BP members. 

In fact, there have been several reports which liken it to the payday loan industry in the loose and quasi-ethical manner in which it operates and the fees extracted for the level of service provided.  

CAP rate only "meaningful" when comparing similar cash-flows in a local area and then only if the same methodology is used to calculate it.   

They promote creative ways to extract revenue from landlords and tenants.