Easy way to look at things are any institutional, or Hedge funds buying in this asset class.

I find that the hedge fund institutional investors are gone so I see opportunity.

Doing business with a commercial loan lender.If you are using an institutional lender then why can't you get a generic pre-approval from them?

Reading these guys books really helped me get a decent foundation from an investing perspective when I jumped into multi-family.This one here from the Appraisal Institute is really great too. http://www.appraisalinstitute.org/the-valuation-of-apartment-properties-second-edition/Good luck and go get 'em!

They are 30 year loans from an impersonal institution who has really low historical rates.

A lot of the loan officers in these institutions are on a low base salary and make bonuses when they close loans.

I have worked on buildings that were developed by institutional or commercial owners.I currently have 2 properties.  

Any time someone knows your name, banking institution and account number they can create fake checks.  

Has anyone dealt with a low down renovation loan offered by a finicial institution other than fha 203k?

If your lender told you 4 then that is an individual institution overlay.