Private/Hard Money lenders do not lend on owner occupied properties due to consumer protection laws.

Are they actually as time consuming as people say "4am toilet broken events"?

A strong decrease in rates means three things-- the economy has been hit, the average consumer has likely been hit harder, and sellers are going to be more open to selling.

This is a pretty common issue and isn't generally a bad thing since this lets you know the VRBO's algorithm is pushing your listing out to consumers (Not the right type but still).

Consumer Price Index (CPI) for Shelter: According to the U.S.

The “headline” CPI (Consumer Price Index = inflation) for June declined 0.1% month-over-month, and the “core” CPI (excluding food & fuel) rose only 0.1% MoM.

The combo of rising unemployment, reduced inflation and stalling consumer confidence is lowering yields on the longer end of the curve. 

Everything I've seen is townhouses that were built to be sold directly to consumers and when the units couldn't sell individually, the developers cut their losses and sold to out of town 1031 buyers looking for an easy button.

Same as above, cleaners restock from our warehouse for consumables. 

HELOCs have more consumer protections, but they can still be dropped through no fault of your own.