But what I'm running into is the fact that in order to refi out without 6 months of seasoning on title, I must use the cash purchase variance--is this a Freddie Mac thing, I think?

@Remone Randolph it is likely that you are receiving a government loan (Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac/FHA/etc) and the federal government will require your federal taxes to be paid. 

I have heard that my best route is to find a private portfolio lender who does not have to abide by the stricter 45% debt to income ratio that Fanny Mae and Freddy Mac do? 

Closing costs near $5K2) The bank my father uses for a lot of his properties (US Bank) is pushing me to do a Portfolio loan for this property since it will be a lot easier to accomplish without complications since they would own the loan and not have to jump through Fannie May/Freddie Mac hoops.

Closing costs near $5K2) The bank my father uses for a lot of his properties (US Bank) is pushing me to do a Portfolio loan for this property since it will be a lot easier to accomplish without complications since they would own the loan and not have to jump through Fannie May/Freddie Mac hoops.

I’m most locales, yes, you ‘technically’ do need a permit for anything more than a device/fixture replacement.

 I second Riley, my wife and I live in Midtown by Mary Macs and love it. 

I was just as surprised as you when I made the move to larger apartment buildings, the terms and terminology are much different.My best luck has been working with Freddie Mac.

I saw that Freddie Mac has a new program called HomeOne (I think), might they qualify for that?

I know it's possible to monitor usage for specific circuits using a few different device options.