I signed the contract mentioned above, that initially said no closing points to lendbase when we find a loan.  

Which two syndicators did you invest with (ones that exited) and what was their initial business plan? 

Having a vision for future projects like the ones you mentioned are great, but learning the ABCs of RE with a small investment (initial down payment - since you only need 3.5%-5% down on a primary) is the best way to sharpen your skills.

Initially, I was told it would take 60 days.

To fully illustrate this, there was a poster who was looking for 100% financing for construction in Philly but also wanted the lender to advance costs for the initial phases of construction.

You can use a SQ FT format to guess rehab but that is only good to initially look at a deal.

I did a "blind" assessment where I paid/reimbursed a close family friend to go in as a guest because there were a lot of details I wasn't privy to- and wanted to understand (the whole experience and process from the guest perspective from the initial inquiry, emails, etc.).They shared the email communications (some of which was glitchy or not quite as good as what I'd expect, or told me of delays in receiving responses).

Initial Equity: The discount you achieve when buying below market value.

After that initial down payment, the bank will basically be financing your investments.

It shouldn’t take more than five minutes to do an initial underwriting.