You mentioned you’re 51; if you don’t have 20 years to pay down mortgages, perhaps consider larger down payments or different ways to optimize what you have within your time table to have this income in place.

GC's have their own teams and timetables.  

For example your purchase and refinance LTVs, closing costs with each lender, rates and loan programs changing by the time you refinance (your time table), pre-payment penalties, and whether or not your rehabbing these prior to renting them out...  

Make a time table for future repairs like the roof and hvac with estimated cost. 

I realize you're on a shorter timetable, being almost 60, but you're not dead yet ;)

What does your timetable (That you’ll laugh at in hindsight in a year) look like now?

A conventional loan won't work with my timetable and I'm looking for a faster lending option.

I have a time table on what i need to get done and am going to stick with it.I have heard quite a few stories from investors around me of having NIGHTMARE tenants.

We will also some times give some allowance if they called several days before the rent was due and informed us that they will be late, maybe 7 days, but then again, it messes up the eviction timetable.

The only other explanation is that when they negotiated the funding time table they wanted the bank to agree to fund before they sent payments.