Within a year we had 3 or 4 originators, 2 or 3 processors, and a full-time admin assistant. 

It's rarely fully transparent to the seller and never to the original lender.

If you cash flow $1K per month for 36 months, and then sell with the ability to pull back your original investment, would you consider that a win?

I would think their loan documents give them the right to control the property after the original owner dies - regardless of who is living there (although I have no direct knowledge of the laws where you live).There are details we don't know here... like if you want the house for sentimental reasons, or because you see the value between what it's worth on the market today and what the reverse mortgage company wants for it?  

I’ve tried VRBO and Furnished Finder, but they didn’t perform well in my market.

I reach out to the original borrower and ask them what’s going on.

The main reason I ask is because that is significantly below primary residence mortgage rates let alone any investment loans, if you can get rates like that I might need to make some changes on my end hahahTo answer your original question, assuming all else is equal long-term fixed rate debt is valuable. 

There are many cost segregation specialists to choose from, so it’s important to perform due diligence.

Strong performance so far.

If you sell your property, the tax basis (original cost) of the property for the giver becomes the tax basis for the recipient.