I have four units just like this and have a decorative fireplace is not an issue, at least in my area.It is quite standard in rentals to not offer a working fireplace for cost and liability issues. 

I am in the process of studying for my licensing exam in the state of Tennessee and plan to work in the Chattanooga area upon completion of the test (which will be quite soon).

The 3rd thing that has reshaped my entire opinion of the tax advantages of real estate, is seeing my 88 grandfather holding five quite valuable illiquid properties, long story short it’s a mess, it’s causing family drama, he is in zero shape physically or mentally to manage them, the all have cap-ex needs, again these were amazing buy’s literally multiple properties he bought for under 50k that are now worth over a million but there is probably a time and a place for owning real estate, so I don’t really have a need to own more than maybe a few properties into retirement.

But they have NEGATIVE CASHFLOW, until the day you quit investing.

I've been primarily focused on Detroit since 2019, and it's been quite the ride.Out-of-state investing has its pros and cons.

Quote from @Steven Stanimirovic: Hi Rich,The prepayment penalties you’ve encountered are quite standard with DSCR loans, as lenders often structure these penalties (commonly called "step-down prepayment penalties") to offset the risk of early loan payoff.

Im not quite sure what you mean by, "utilize this monetary benefit to refi as it comes at a mere .5%" You mean the VA Funding fee is .5% on IRRRLs?

The no-show rate for prospective tenants in this area tends to be quite high.

I’d recommend steering away from condos due to high HOA fees, which can eat into returns.

I have several clients who live overseas and when these guidelines were updated, we had to switch their financing strategies quite a bit.