The upside to that way is they have zero debt but also a pension usually, which will be much harder to have for our generation

This is usually the best indicator that they are 2 different properties.Best of luck to you!!

Small banks are usually the ones most willing to take a chance on local investors trying to improve the community.

You'll need a commercial loan, which is usually 1% higher at least, and generally 20 or 25yr am with balloons between 3 and 10 yrs out.

I bought and moved to a condo, and when my closing attorney wrote them a demand letter, I got the refund in a week.I watch court shows on TV where landlords try to keep deposits with pictures of garbage left behind and damages, and usually the judges are not sympathetic attributing it to wear and tear.

I've seen it in a few more places over the years, and it's usually more expensive than drywall, I have no idea why someone would do that.

I appreciate the honesty.I guess if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.

No FHA will be reasonably consistent as will most other loan products, the only thing you can expect to vary from lender to lender will be their fees and possibly the interest rate (but usually not by much). 

Keep an eye on the yield curve flattening as short term rates begin to equal long term, this usually is an accurate predictor of economic slowdown.This is guess but I think stocks will be hit hard as a lot of new wealth was put into the stock market over the last cycle and the advent of ETF's has allowed investors to buy large pools of stocks. 

There are a lot of old properties for rent, and still asking a lot of money.We usually fill vacancies in less than 2 weeks.