Personally, I love the intricate details and quaint ornaments that were an integral part in the construction in the 1900's, however, I'm not particularly fond of the fact that the technology utilized in these apartments don't quite cut it now-a-days. 

Big money is not necessarily smart money.

Another thing I noticed when buying and selling there, if you’re not used to negotiating/splitting closing costs, get smart on it.  

I won’t get into the weeds with it, but with blockchain smart contract, you could have corrected the issues outlined, and recorded it yourself.

The wife and I have 2 mortgages currently on our townhome, and I'm wondering if it makes sense to refinance both of them into 1, to save us some money in the long run (or if it's just smart anyway).

That's smart.

Not sure how much a proration makes sense, nor do I think it's a smart decision to bank on the fact that the new tenants will renew for a full lease so there are some hang ups there as well. 2.

While I can see that some will not be comfortable with this kind of technology, I'm willing to try this the next time I have to fill tenants.   

I've had success in making some very subtle Smart Home upgrades.

I am not smart enough to be an economist, I just know that based on history we are overdue for one.