I’ll get a better interest rate on the property as compared to an investment property since it is an owner occupied conventional loan2.

Note even with use of a PM, I would not refer to residentisl RE as passive (especially compared to the stock market).  

All of this is aimed at providing more value to our members without hiking prices.While I understand your perspective, I don't think it's accurate to compare our approach to the fee increases mentioned in the article.

The terms are not as attractive on a mixed use loan compared to a 1-4 unit residential loan.

I self-manage a property in California and have never worked with a PMC before, so I'm uncertain about what my responsibilities are compared to those of the property manager.

Look at the 2 year treasury for comparable direction. 

A comp based appraisal is going to be based on comparable sales, so yes. 

I compare property managers to tenants.

These loans are non-conventional, making them much easier to qualify for compared to traditional financing options.

We recommend you get management contracts from several PMCs and compare the services they cover and, more importantly, what they each DO NOT cover.