You typically need up to two years of stable employment before a bank will loan to you.

That includes going to the bank and getting a cashiers check.Pay them at the bank, get deed notarized there, then take it to Register of Deeds and file deed.I have done this a half dozen times to keep from missing out on a great deal.For what I'm paying any risk is negligible.  

For your first commercial deal, your best home is probably going to be with a local community bank or credit union. 

I would like to put my money to work instead of shoveling my money into the bank (mortgage) or to a landlord (renting).

If you are looking to avoid cap gains on one, ok, but paying you a little more to become the bank is not whipped cream on a sundae to me, it's like one old walnut.

Personally, I love them because they offer built-in diversification.In my experience, local banks are your best bet for financing mixed-use properties.

I realize there are not many banks that offer this.

And you basically bank 21 nights then get to use 21 nights from someone else.

You can get a decent quality tub without breaking the bank and if you  layout the bathroom where the tub faucet is in the wall you can save some money because floor mounted tub fillers and their rough in are are expensive.

In particular, the ability to auto-sync and categorize bank transactions (similar to Stessa), easily track expenses against budgets, and streamline lease creation with lease templates is quite nice.