When I was initially trying to sort this all out it was really frustrating as I felt like it was highly unlikely that I needed to recreate the wheel, so to speak, as it didn't seem like such a unique situation. 

I don't know if this is possible but I would try to have this thread deleted immediately since your name is somewhat unique and Biggerpockets ranks highly in Google.  

There are a lot of specific things that Jason and his team know that makes the program unique to this part of the country.

Wish you well and feel free to connect with me for unique discounted deals in Miami-Dade.

I'm in a very unique financial position (you can google me), and we can discuss in detail over the phone or some other private medium.  

When I was trying to finance a multi-unit recently, I found that each lending institution has a unique set of internal rules in addition to the federal regulations.  

Provides that licenses shall be renewed every year using the common renewal date of the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry as adopted by the Director of the Division of Banking of the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation.

Are there any unique circumstances or cultural considerations/preparations to know about?

May be the same as above, but discovering or creating unique opportunities for situations that didn't present itself on traditional or under normal circumstances!

I have talked to RBC and TD/CT which are Canadian banks that have US divisions.