Choosing a syndication with preferred returns can offer you a bit of safety in knowing that the sponsor needs the building to generate revenue for the investors first before they can get paid themselves.FeesSponsors often charge fees to the investors, and that is normal.

This is normal. 

We do that as a "Utility Offset" in order to protect our owners from extremely high utility bills when there are more than the normal guest count.Hot tubs can be incredibly valuable!

@Ken Naim, spot on about the prepayment penalty, this is not something I normally need to worry about with conventional financing.

Is this normal?

Another option could be lowering rent a bit but putting an additional responsibility on the tenant, such as lawn maintenance or a bill that you would normally cover.Good luck!

Fresh out of college and I'm looking to get my skin in the game in residential real estate investing.

They have more skin in the game then you do.Make sure you get clear title.

For normal homes I would recommend a company like homejab which does a good job for a budget but if you have a custom interior you're going to want a higher end photographer.  

Personal Injury Protection\But there are others that may also apply in your situation.Your umbrella would normally require that you have underlying Liability coverage of a certain amount.