But there is a relationship between rates and how conservative they tend to be.

I would not however be happy paying for a 2nd lease fee and depending on the previous relationship you had with them may be grounds for me looking for greener pastures. 

But for clarity, I have a longstanding professional and personal relationship with both the real estate agent and the buyer.

Doesn't seem like they have taken a huge jump yet, but they are in high demand which can lead to other problems while you are building your team and relationships.

With that said, if you are a good underwriter and deal finder, you will be able to find partners if the numbers are real and make sense, but you build relationships like that in advance through local real estate meetups and online meetups, etc.

If I'm talking with a prospective tenant and they say they have a really aggressive pit bull and they just got out of an abusive relationship, those are red flags. 

When it comes to properties, there is an inverse relationship between cash flow and appreciation.

Justin  Tahilramani and Jake Wosick, thank you I will reach to them and see if some relationships can be be established. 

My recommendation is to find a good mortgage broker and build that relationship, they can be invaluable when looking for commercial loans. 

You can get a gift for a down payment but it must be from a  blood relative or "like" relative  and the you must explain the close relationship and why the "like" relative would give you a gift. a GIFT for downpayment is money given willingly to a buyer without repayment.