From the conferences I have attended, all I have read I think 3x rent is more common but that doesn't mean your PM is wrong. 

Those who do understand it aren’t struggling.Here’s the common flaw: people think a circumstance equals motivation.Foreclosure = motivatedTax lien = motivatedAbsentee owner = motivatedThat’s just not true.Motivation is an emotional response to a circumstance, not the circumstance itself.Let me give you an example.

Any tips on avoiding common mistakes?

I have done a few projects  in N> CA were we did Mello Roos.. and a few with plane ole 1915 act bonds.. its just a common way to develop in CA..

Rate should not exceed 12.5% at most and more commonly about 11.75%.

After reading this thread, a few comments come to mind over this common A or B decision.Without knowing how much it is (no need to say) makes my advice (or more accurately, my opinion) more general in nature but here it goes:Lending has very little to no tax shelters whereas buy and hold does.

We do have a regional airport that provides connecting flights to Dallas but it is unreliable/expensive and they are unable to extend the runway to land  bigger commercial jets and don't have room to expand the common areas that would accommodate more customers.

Location, Common rents and things like ARV are also things to consider in advance.

My questions are: 1) Is this a common concept in commercial properties that the tenant is responsible to repair, maintain, and replace anything in their leased space regardless of the cause?

Quote from @Clarissa Finks: Software is a common question on BiggerPockets.