Ultimately you need to find a lender who is very experienced with condos.  

I was thinking more along the lines of a 'travel expense' write-off from the business, ultimately treating my unit as a rent/travel expense/hotel which is why I was getting confused.

Ultimately you want to find a loan officer who is familiar with financing investment properties. 

Everybody's map is ultimately going to be different- how I got my first properties is going to be different than you but if you stick to what you want to, trust your own judgment, and do not allow yourself to be caught up in the fear you will be fine.  

Federal liens like IRS liens survive the courthouse steps auction, until they release their lien.

I verbalize to clients that I ultimately work for the transaction. 

I'm interested in flipping too, but I've always preferred the long term hold strategy to building equity, and ultimately retirement wealth.

You might want to check out the BP Ultimate Free Beginners Guide to get a solid foundation.

I agree its ultimately up to me and the investors what a fair deal is.  

Its tough to really blame one unit owner, since roaches really can survive in any condition.Much better to treat the whole building.