As for mowing - shop around.

They may cost a little more for closing costs, but they can help shop for a loan that meets your needs.

I shop insurance regularly but can't beat coverage or rate at Farmers Insurance.

Definitely go with an insurance broker that can shop the market.

We currently have a lender that will allow us to do a 5% down conventional mortgage (we need a low down payment option) without mortgage insurance, but the fees associated with this lender come out to about 2k more than a few others that I have shopped around.  

Thanks for the suggestions sounds like most of the time you really have to shop to find a lender that is willing to work with multiple rental properties.

They are truly a one stop shop for investors and the place to go.

i.e. maintenance, make sure the firestick/cable channels are working, make a shopping list of things needed like laundry soap, coffee etc. 

Same here I have been saying the same line now for 47 years.. pretty tough to sit in the barber shop in Oregon explain doing HML in Baltimore LOL or building house's in charleston or Orlando  etc etc.. so I am in real estate works just fine.. 

From the rest of her email, it sounds like for the purpose of making loans, that step is often rolled into the origination process and involves no out-of-pocket contribution from the customer (because they're making money off of making the loan, so they gift you the start-up funds).