Im probably better at it than people naturally built for it because I work hard and have to make a conscious choice to be successful at it as opposed to some it comes more naturally to.

So I am much more conscious of wasting agents time now that I don't have MLS access.

(Im originally from Boston, went to college in Oklahoma, went back to Boston, then down to DC).I made choices while I was young to both live cheaply, and consciously chose to live in expensive areas cities. 

Some may not pull credit at all but limit leverage; some are credit conscious - better credit better rate; and others will 100% require credit and hard pull each time.

Often the lender breaks out the origination charges a bit instead of lumping it all into Underwriting Fee but the overall amount looks OK.I thought the appraisal was high but then remembered it was a 3-family so that looks OK.The main thing is that when you're talking to multiple lenders, you make sure that you get all the origination charges in addition to the interest rate.If one option is a mortgage broker who has her/his own origination charge, but a lower overall interest rate, then you absolutely need to find out how much that charge is and factor it into your analysis.Usually it makes sense to do it for the lower rate if you're going to hold onto the property for more than a few years, but it's a choice you should consciously make.Paying a mortgage broker fee for a lower rate is not unlike paying points to buy down the rate.

Also, be conscious of what the average life expectancy is of some of the big ticket things, if i home was built in the 80's, it probably had to have a new roof put on.. whereas if it was in the late 90's, that new roof is going to be on your dime now.    

A lot of quality work was put into this renovation with a conscious effort to maintain and restore the original brick charm.

Also it wouldn't hurt to be conscious of their costs as an investor.

I didn't add to seller's side because they are extremely price conscious in this, which is also why they didn't list.

Congratulations on a very conscious decision.As for my position, I've lived in Southern California for 19 years, Houston for 3, Dallas for 2, and now back in Southern California.