A bit about myself, I have been a professional merchant mariner for 10 years and a commercial fisherman for the 10 years prior.

I also know a commercial mortgage broker (we bought his house and he rented back from us for a couple years) that is also an investor if you are interested in that info.

After all is said and done, signed off on and closed, can I create an in-law that collects rent and not have it considered a 5 family (town is fine with it so that's not the question) But as we know  a 5th "apartment' pushes me into commercial in ways I'm not interested in,  so only want a 4 fam with a legal in-law if possible.  

Ahh i see, you did a commercial loan. 

I was in the restaurant business before getting into commercial real estate so know it extremely well.Is there a personal guarantee on this lease?

How do you get access to a MLS guest portal ?

My question is, can I access MLS and properties without being assigned to a broker and having to pay their fees?

@John Lee, Here are the pretty standard fees regardless of which brokerage: MLS access for a non realtor would be $886 for a year and $670 if you join the Realtor association-http://www.trendmls.com/Guest/ShowJoinLinkDoc.aspx.... $476 if you want to join the Realtor association- http://www.suburbanwestrealtors.com/membership/201....

If I were to buy these as a package deal, would I need to use a commercial loan?

Will have MLS access and already network with some good contractors.