You can expect to spend north of $1K between some of the fees I mentioned above as well as continuing education and association fees. 

@Jay Hinrichs I'm not well educated in the loan product realm, what is this "7% rule" or the actual name of it so I can Google it to learn more about it.

This is something we'd need to educate ourselves on as it would help (in my mind) as we analyze different properties from the beginning. 

Good luck and get educated!

When selecting my brokerage I needed to find who would best support my needs, while giving me the best education.

Good luck and get educated!

Should I be looking at population changes, age, demographics, education levels, home purchases, home construction, and in what way? 

One of the ways you can be a broker in Michigan is through getting your real estate agent license and working for a company for 3 years in a 40 hour a month job before going through the rest of the education.

Trying to determine what are the best banks to establish an account with and are more likely to lend to start up commercial real estate investment companies. In addition I have read books and talked to investors but I...

Educate yourself.