From what I can tell, you might be on the right track for you in your current situation without directly being able to visit or have other trusted boots on the ground to do your due diligence for you. 

@Alfred Litton I’m tracking this thread!

Eff that, I am not going to track down 5 years of landlords and get references

I use both as a RE investor between commercial and residential as both can be used on 1-4 unit properties (non owner/investment occupancy).The pro's of commercial/portfolio financing from local credit unions and community banks are that you can:- talk to a local banker/lender who is interested in building a relationship with you over time and is flexible to make a loan as long as its financially prudent and you show a track record- ability to build a track record with- less documentation scrutiny than a fannie/freddie conventional loan which is more ridged because it needs to be sold to the secondary market so all boxes must be checked to do so (otherwise the loan is unsellable or undeliverable)- is cashflow based via debt coverage ratio or DCR method of qualification (Net operating income / debt service) - can fund to LLC's, entities, and businesses with personal guarantee (PG) usually- can do unique loans like cross collateral or blanket notes across an entire portfolio, can do rehab/construction + permanent financing into one (one time close products), can do soft liens and releasable upon progress on your projects so you can leverage equity with temporarily encumbrances, unique disbursements on credit facilities,etc Hope that helped compare the cash out options.

You need a solid track record with successful exits with the type of project you are wanting to list with them.

Anybody done this before who can share their experience in building a track record and scale faster?

- Do we just keep track of all expenses and depreciation for the portion of the property that is rented out, even though the LLC does not have the mortgage under it?  

Professors understand most of their students are working full time and are there because they want to be there.I love the idea of being on the Entrepreneurship track, or even Management could be helpful. 

@Marshall Martinez I’m tracking!

If the first offer is accepted you've paid too much.Follow up is the magic sauce, track each property and call periodically to "check" on your offer.Never use a buyers agent.