Here's your problem right here:"second lender called and said that i would need to take out an investment loan instead and did not know what the interest rate for that would be, even though I told them up front what the property would be used for [...] vacation rental property"Lender 1 took your words as meaning rental property (can "count" projected rents towards DTI, normal investor interest rate).Lender 2 took your words as meaning vacation property (can NOT "count projected rents towards DTI, way better rate).There is no category for "vacation rental" property. 3 categories:Primary residence.Second home aka vacation property.Investment aka rental property. 

There's another category called "prepaids" you'll want to get familiar with as well, which are the taxes and hazard insurance premiums a lender requires to be paid in advance so as to ensure their collateral (your home) isn't go to be a loss if you don't pay the taxes and the Govt comes and takes it away or it burns down in a fire. 

It seems she was in the "small family" category as the technicians never saw evidence of anything near the volume she was reporting.I did learn the Teriminix $800 house sealing treatment can be had for much less if you get the Home Depot squirt gun and caulk-like sealer, then patiently explore every crack in your foundation. 

Not to mention staying above that 5 unit mark, puts you in a different category.

The asset manager has numerous tasks, some of which need to be completed before other tasks can be started.

2 years ago purchased 2BR/2BA condo in 4-star building to live in; one year ago acquired two additional condos same building through 1031 tax exchange that break even on cash flow but lots of gain embedded in each from numerous rollovers. 

I would also include a misc. expense category so you are able to have a cash reserve on hand to fund those different expense budgets if they start to become too small.

I'm surprised you did it but I'm not sure I'd put the request in the "pain in the ***" category. 

While there is more to learn (local laws and compliances) it is totally doable and there are numerous markets worth investing in.

My Ask: I've included my train of though on each of the rehab categories below.