Either choice you make will be a good one.

Option 1 seems like the safest and most flexible route. 

I know which one I would take out of those two choices.  

As the great philosopher once said, "mo' money, mo' problems".I think the reduced leverage plan is a good choice to free up some DTI but obviously the extra fees on DSCR could start to add up a little.

was it poor choice of notes.. or do you think it was straight up stealing money from their investors ?  

Ever wondered if single-family or multifamily is the smarter choice for building your rental portfolio?

I listened to some of these gurus (including a few people on BP) about acquiring doors to have "financial freedom" and bought 2 Class C properties in Indianapolis, not hating the city just my choice of property purchases - that cash flow on paper has turned out to be -$300 to -$500 a month.

I think you'd be making a great choice if you decide to move here. 

I would say these are not deals for a retail investor.Regarding investing in syndications, its really a personal choice of being passive and trusting people when real estate is not your specialty - similar to stocks - I do not manage my stock portfolio because I am clueless on it and my wife is 1000x smarter than I am and manages it.

My easiest and safest bet would be to just build the outside storage lot.