Are you looking at cashflow or some combination of cashflow and appreciation?

Restricting certain elements you can advertise may not be good, but it is certainly not evil.Is the settlement good for sellers?

Unless you are altering roof lines, overhangs, driveways or other exterior elements, no site survey will be required."

My initial infant level of knowledge would tell me it's a combination of being poorly managed (I calculated they're spending nearly 65% on expenses to only have $305K NOI on 95% occupancy at $875/m, if that's even the average rent/unit currently occupied). 

Using strategies like a 1031 exchange allows you to sell and reinvest in another property while deferring taxes, so I often factor this into decisions.For me, it's a combination of interest rates, appreciation, and potential cash flow.

I don't agree with the fee comment - certainly that can be an element of a scammy lender but there are certainly lenders that do require some upfront fees and other vendor/pass-through fees in addition to the appraisal. 

For spending at least 100 hours in managing the business myself, can it be a combined 100 hours between my wife and myself or does it have to be 100 hours for myself and 100 hours for my wife? 

Your insight into a particular market, combined with the expertise of your partners, will be far more advantageous than simply following trends.

To give you an idea for the 30 year fixed I could offer the following :-Rate: 6.750%-Payment $5,691 -Prepayment 5/4/3/2/1-Broker and lender fee : 1.00% combined 

As far as estimating goes I would look up furnished finders report to give some insight, combining that with other places like Zillow and other long term sites.