I  understand you have already made your decision however if you need to insulate in the future, I would definitely shop around.   

Trying to find a good deal but not sure where its safe to shop in order to maximize my dollars.

I have a barber shop, a beauty shop, small clothing store, a small church, and my rental officein one building.  

You know you've left EG on the south when the cows, horses, and fields take the place of shopping minimalls.This all being said, I don't actively look for investments in my backyard because I spent (wasted?)

I walked up and found a bag of weed.  

Walk into any trendy coffee shop, any nice sandwich place these days, and the menus are in 10 point font, grey on grey.  

What is the best way to "shop" better deals that may require only 20% down without having everyone run my credit?

I would contact a mortgage broker who can shop your loan or your entire portfolio to multiple types of lenders to get all your options.

I'm shopping around for lenders and I've come across a new type of lender I haven't read much on - Direct Lenders.

Then, find a lawyer and squash it fast.The only problem with trying to capitalize on his higher price (someone calls in on the 110K ad and you try to sell it at 110k) is that it's tough to find out where people saw your ad and, after you've started negotiations, if they see "your" ad listed for 10k less, it's another bag of worms...