im based out of Fort Lauderdale but I help a few clients in the West Palm Beach area.

South Philadelphia's base zoning districts are not very accommodating either.

The first people that lose their money in a downturn are those that are lending at insanely high LTVs without adequate underwriting experience including determining if the borrower's qualifications based on credit/character, capacity, and collateral.  

Since construction loans fund their draws  based on completed  work, having the additional capital to advance the construction progress is helpful.

Should I wait for the interest rates to drop before I buy my first real estate property?

You won’t end up in tax court but if you do, you would win based on everything you cited about material participation as long as you have a time and activity log that shows your tasks and provide a guest list that shows the number of nights your guests stay (easily found on the various platforms). 

We have a small fund based out of florida.

I expect if the stock market truly crashed long term the government would bail out 401Ks before STR investors based on the government's previous actions.

Should I try to get them to extend term to 24 months and drop the origination fee to 1%?

And if someone's not responsible for something else, then that Ball can be dropped which can lead to further consequences.