@Kelly WaliHiWhat's your end goal?

Some people have made a very high appreciation in R15 and R8, some higher than the privately planned masterplans like Aldea Zama, Selvazama, and Tulum 101, It depends on the investor some prefer buying at a higher price per sqft with all the infrastructure already in place and some will try to get a better deal and wait for the infrastructure to arrive, it all depends on your risk tolerance and your goals, needs and wants. 

For example, in my area garbage and sewer are the most common municipal utilities and thankfully flat fee that I can bake into the rent. 

If I had 75k to invest and my goal was to scale and build a multi million dollar REI firm, I'd not go more than 20k in transaction costs to close on my first deal. 

Private lenders offer flexibility in structuring the loan, with common options being interest-only payments with a balloon payment or a fully amortized loan.

Attend real estate seminars, workshops, and networking events to expand your knowledge and connections in the industry.Set Goals and Create a Plan: Define your short-term and long-term goals as a real estate investor and create a plan to achieve them.

Is this a commonly successful approach given the local real estate and rental market dynamics?

When evaluating, consider the interest rate risk with the ARM versus the predictability of the fixed-rate loan and how it aligns with your investment or residence goals.

Unfortunately, common spaces that you use as part of your personal space can't be included in the rental portion calculations. 

There are lockable thermostats for commercial use, but I can't see that working in a rental.I think the main issue will always be that any thermostat that you can set a minimum temperature in will always be susceptible to this fail safe failing, due to the possibility the tenant could change it on purpose or on accident.I'd hope in a 4 plex as long as there is no building defect to the thermal envelope that it would be difficult for one units pipes to freeze as long as the other units were occupied, seeing as they share some common walls/ceilings.