In fact, a licensed builder would be held to a higher standard and you could take legal action against their license in most states if they didn't finish the job. 

I want to make each of my homes a standard for all my homes so that it is pretty easy when it comes to whipping one into shape to be rented.I have read blogs where some people use the exact same paint for each home, some use a ton of door stops, mini blinds, no mini blinds etc.

Are there any standard arrangements so both can share is the risk and reward?

I went with a standard FHA 3.5% down loan, because that was easier to secure through my lender than any other loan type.

An ice maker is not required as a standard of living, as the refrigerator itself might be, so you can put it off if you need to.

If an inspector disagrees, then they'll either levee you with fines or prohibit you from renting it until it meets their standards.  

A series LLC is no more difficult or expensive to set up than a standard LLC but with the Series LLC you can create more LLCs (one asset per LLC) at will at no additional cost or effort.

It seems extremely high for me and I would just love to know what the lender is doing - if they are taking me to the cleaners or if the closing costs are all pretty standard and I won't be able to find a better deal elsewhere.Also, if I SHOULD look elsewhere, how do I find a lender on my own?

The investment portion is tied to the size of the policy so to increase the investment, we would need to also increase the life insurance, which at the time wasn't something we were interested in.We will now just get a standard 20 year life insurance policy and call it a day. 

Just because there have never been any assessments, I wouldn't count on that going forward.I would try to figure up reasonable costs to maintain the land and parking lot to the standards I'd want, divide that cost by 3 and budget that amount (probably tack on 10-20%) for it each month.