Train wreck with about 50 residential units and a few commercial buildings. 

I then experimented with various ranges of rates and terms to get to one that gives you a payment of about $1650 and a balloon after 10 years of about $180,000. 

Only material cost was link ties and new poles and a couple of bags of concrete, and labor was around $200-300.

I was able to find a local realtor and a property management company to work with and within a month have put an offer on a house!

My grandparents own (2) properties, their primary residence (paid off) and a rental property on the same street (has a bank loan with substantial equity). 

I can also refer you to a few property managers and a contractor I did work with this year that did a great job for me, depending on the size of the project. 

If he's using a 15 year amortization schedule with 10% interest rate it's materially different (economically) than a commercial lender using a 25 year amortization tables and a 5% interest rate. 

If you have a good strategy, and a good plan in place for seeing it through, you shouldn't be worried about anyone's opinion about what you are doing. 

And as stated repeatedly, you shouldn't make a purchase decision based on taxes.

Hypothetically, as a builder / developer, would you pay a slight premium for property that has the federal historic tax credit of 20%, a state historic tax credit of 25% and a city empty building tax credit of 25% - capped at $500,000, as well as a dense mixed use approved PUD, and a tentative $5 mil TIF district for the site?