A lot of investors seem to gloss over the price of a pre-payment penalty but in a Most likely dropping rate environment over the next few years that 3 year PPP can be quite costly if you cannot refi with out a large cost. 

SinceI possess a social security number, and I am wondering if it is possible to open a new account remotely and online. 

I did my closing just 45 days ago and also paid additional to bring the interest down, doing another loan means closing costs again.

If your competition is at 60% cost to income, then you should be close to that

Depending on the state of those facilities it could make sense to secure a renter before renovating so that you build the area out for the long term renter. 

That can be both a positive or a negative depending on the opportunity cost of the monthly fee and % of commission they take on every sale vs the opportunity and tools that are given to you.On the other hand smaller local shops can be more flexible when it comes to the terms of full time sales agents vs part time agents.

With the current cost of renovating - what is the consensus ?  

There are a few additional costs when buying a FIG unit, but the benefits way out-weigh the costs and so far all my clients have been very happy with their purchases.Hopefully that helped.Merry Christmas!!

I have seen 2 recent studies comparing the initial cost of renting versus owning.  

Cost efficiency makes it cheaper to set up and maintain than multiple LLCs.3.