Would love some insight to help guide me through this or for any of my future deals.

Make sure to read the Beginner’s Guide: http://www.biggerpockets.com/real-estate-investing

Check out this video as a guide.

Loan approved because it was a good deal.Our #5 was back to the commercial lender.  7 of the 8 units were occupied and the income met the lender's guide line of the income covering the principal, interest, taxes and insurance with a bit left over.  

Let that guide you. 

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If you reach out to the lender you're approved with, I'm sure they would be able to confirm and guide you further.  

Make sure to read the Beginner’s Guide: http://www.biggerpockets.com/real-estate-investing

There are many pros, but two cons that seem most prominent in my mind of the bat: 1) getting a license doesn't make you an expert out of the gate, even with MLS - an experienced real estate agent can guide you into an emerging market that you might not know about vs. an obvious, saturated market, for example, or explain why a comp only .2 miles away is actually no good for your prospective purchase, among other things 2) if any litigation were to arise in your r.e. business, having a license will almost undoubtedly mean you are held to a higher standard, probably with respect to any aspect of the deal. 

@Joseph Scorese, I am not familiar with all of the rules on FNMA 10 but for those lenders that might not use it as a guide, have you seen anyone be able to cash out refinance before 6 months?