Most of the lenders I’ve had contact with have the 25% DP requirement, high rates, and high closing costs 

If you want to paint them, hire a pro and pay them a reasonable rate- it's usually at least $3K to do it right, or just leave them. 

Situation: I own an investment property townhome (not primary residence) that I still owe ~$195k on 30 year mortgage at 3.3% rate that originated at $230k back in 2020.

I'm not sure if this could be a major factor for someone like me in choosing an area to invest, but the statistics suggest that Huntsville has a lower overall vacancy rate.

The property comes with one unit occuped and they are paying below market rate.

You'll get an idea of the rate, the down payment required, do they want an experienced manager to make the loan fundable at close- where would you get this person is it you?

It has separate power (zoned commercial) and the rate I pay is cheaper than the main house. 

If you haven't done any flips in the area, HML rates will be high for you to start with no verifiable track record locally.

Hopefully some day they’ll force listings to include cleaning charges in the rates.

When you get higher, you are essentially bidding down the interest rate that you receive.I am not a tax lien specialist and recommend reaching out to some of those who are very active on BiggerPockets like a Ned Carey