They properties are in low income neighborhoods so the ARV on each property is 60k.

Agreed -- great, low-cost way to cover marginal legal bases without racking up hours of billings with an attorney.

While the low down payment costs are what entices many veterans to jump on that loan , it will significantly increase your PITI and ultimately thats more money you would have to pay interest on, even 1% down can prevent thousands of dollars in interest over the life of the loan.Best of luck and feel free to reach out for anything I can help with!

But with 30 year notes and one property at 3.25% and the other at 3.87%, it’ll be a while before I reach a point with my equity where a refi will bring my P&I to below where it is now with those super low rates.

That helps because I am only paying interest for the first year (commercial loan), so my first couple of payments were very low (double digits). 

This is the other main aspect of having a low-stress group living situation in your rental properties. 

Ask other investors in your area who they use for lending.The key to the BRRRR strategy is buying at a low enough price, factoring in realistic rehab budget, refinancing at 75% ARV to give you a spread to cash out and roll into the next purchase. 

I’m dealing with the same situation of FHA appraisal coming in low.

@Ken Nyczaj gave me some good tips on books to learn more about the process and strategies for investing, which are (1) Brandon Turner's - Book on Rental Property Investing, (2) Brandon Turner's - The Book on Investing in Real Estate with No and Low Money Down and (3) Jay Scott - Book on Flipping Houses.

Appraisal, Mortgage contingency, the chance of the appraisal coming in low, or you not qualifying or the property not qualifying and the deal falling apart.