In any job role you jump into you will have a period in which you won't be truly in the front lines.

@Carlos Casanueva- like @Andrew Johnson said, it basically comes down to if you want an active or passive role and fyi... you can go much bigger than 40-50 units my friend. 

2) What methods do you use to determine a comfortable number pay the lessor per month while leaving enough  wiggle room to pay mortgage, cover for vacancies, repairs, taxes while having a good cash flow left over with the intent of saving this to use for the 20% down payment when the option is exercised.3) Would you pay for an inspection up front before the contract is signed, or wait until it's time to exercise the option?

I am not sure if our current investments can play a role in our loan process, which is why I am turning to the Bigger Pockets community. 

The lease had explicit language stating how to exercise the option, and it seems that they have forgotten to do so and missed the deadline.

What are the permit requirements, if anyWhat quality level of finish do you need to hit in order to make it match the demographics of the neighborhood These will all ply a role in determining if you’ve got a winner or a loser.

This is because some of the money you are making, is from your management role.

this is clearly the fun/storage wars/small-time heist option.i also emailed first alert, the manufacturer, and they told me that if i send them a notarized statement of ownership ($15 for notary) that they'll email me the combination. this way i'll end up with a $120 not-so-safe of my own. i could sell it and make a few bucks or keep it long enough to forget it in a property at which point one of you fine people will buy the place and exercise option 1: attack it with a crowbar. plan is to open it up on sunday. i'll post what i find.

Your role is not to protect the interests of all 3 partners.

At list at closing. do you have a visual diagram of this exercise ?