@Ashish AcharyaIf you want to give me a quote for my tax situation; full time IT professional, 4 rental properties, one primary residence.

The juice usually isn't worth the squeeze in situations like this, and the added professional liability, administrative hassle, and paperwork might not be worth it.And remember - Your broker gets his or her usual cut (based on what your agreement with them says), so it may not be worth your time either.

., but keep the license in some "reduced" status, so I can still possibly reap the benefits of the real estate professional status for real estate investing.

Funny enough, I work at a bank and am good with numbers and have always wanted to leverage my analytical strengths to better benefit me instead of my employer.I live in San Jose, CA and know that I don’t want my first RE experience to have a high tuition cost so buying in the immediate Bay Area is out, but have read some discussions around Stockton, Modesto, and Merced that sounds like it might be a viable option.

You’ll definitely want to consult your attorney and qualified tax professional before taking action.

Not having professional sports is a drawback but that does not matter to many people and the trade offs are worth it for me.Feel free to reply with any feedback or thoughts on the article, demographic trends, and whether or not they have influenced your investing.

You have some strength in this. 

I would be interested in doing role plays as that would help to make us sound like professionals as opposed to stumbling novices!

If the sponsor has some challenges with credit then lenders who fund them will charge higher interest rates and fees.So in short all of those parameters that you asked about are "typical" but just know that the rate and terms of any multi family loan are dependant on the state of the property and the financial strength and creditworthiness of the sponsor. 

If you need help finding those type of professionals, feel free to email or call me.