They can provide personalized guidance based on your specific situation and goals.

I want to be ask specific as possible (I’m literally making a sheet of questions to take with me as I speak to them) if you guys were in my shoes starting out, what would you make sure I add to this sheet?

I'm sure there's a formula that experienced investors use when prepping a unit for renters, like specific cabinets, countertop, etc. 

There are work arounds to save money but it's always property specific solutions. 

I couldn't find a specific answer for my scenario anywhere. 

I would suggest getting with a tax professional to assist you since there's a lot of variability depending on your specific situation not only on a federal level, but with state reporting as well.

If that person is an employee of one specific bank/lender, it's common for them not to have any idea which hits are "their" hits, and which come from Fannie Mae, since they only ever see the rate/fee schedule from the one place they work at, and they aren't typically labeled that way, it just says "2-4 unit cash out:" and lists the amount of the hit in basis points, without specifying from whence it came.

What you could do is open up a new LLC for the refi where you and your JV partner (or your LLC & the JV partners LLC) have specific ownership percentages in the NEW entity. 

Any specific metrics or criteria that have consistently led to successful deals for you?

The cost includes your stay, all food, drinks.I know many women go with a specific goal in mind, but there is so much power in just BEING AROUND people who you can relate to, who are doing what you want to be doing, and who usually happen to have creative solutions to problems you've been stuck on & had no one to brainstorm on with!