With today's technology / computers, it is much simpler to do and we use some of the same terminology for the same / similar concepts.Think of it this way, if you were running a business where you have many repeat customers to who provide a service or product (e.g. flower shop, pool cleaning, HVAC maintenance, whatever), you would not have a separate bank account for each customer but you would have to keep track of what each customer has been invoiced and what payments they have made.

I've shopped around a little bit and it's fairly expensive.

I'm doing my courses online through the CE shop.

I'm looking for best practices to employ while shopping for mortgage loans for investment properties (small multi-family and SFR).  

You are an independent operator shopping for a mentor who is going to take a cut of your pie and charge you rent to hang your license.

Also consider driving for dollars, posting signs at coffee shops, etc. 9.

Walmart right across the street, shops all around.  

Shop for the quality Chinese and avoid the cheap ones.

I periodically shop around and found that Spirit Bank, TTCU, and Arvest typically have the lower origination fees and are more willing to build a relationship than that mortgage companies.  

TL;DR - Commercial newbie needs to know how to effectively lease up a few shops in a tiny town.