This means the terms and requirements of the loan will be different, so it's important to shop around and find the best option for your situation.Managing a larger building will also require more time and resources.

I would go with workshop option, but get a deposit and signed lease before you start the conversion on the garage to work shop.  

A lot of guests will go grocery shopping on the way to your home. 9 - Enough Place Settings (plates, bowls, silverware, glassware, cups, mugs, etc) for everyone that you have room for.

2) It took me a while to build my residential  portfolio, and we all know that residential is far safer investment than commercial (especially now); However this is not an office building and related to leisure and "fun".

A broker will also shop different lenders for you, and different brokers have varying access/relationship with their partnering lenders.

@Aaron LawsonThe best advice is to shop a few brokers in your market, and compare apples to apples.  

I agree with you that an actually regulated REIT is a much safer choice for someone with no experience.

The only thing you can do is shop around for a better rate and hope you can get one from another carrier. 

Positioned to prospective investors as a "protected" or "safer" investment, it is really being injected, in many cases, into underwater deals that can't be valued in today's environment. 

It might be just you and 2-3 people at a coffee shop for a while but you build on that.