If you're definitely going to live there but have these leases that you are obliged to honor perhaps it's OK to have in your loan agreement that you simply move in when the first lease ends.

Some tested their concept with a booth at the farmer's market before venturing into opening a restaurant, some taught at culinary arts schools, some created a restaurant/entertainment venue, some moved their business from a high rent area such as Portland's "The Pearl" to a more affordable rent area such as Vancouver's "Downtown" or "Uptown", some simply offered the city a cuisine that was not offered before.

However, the main reason I want access is to simply get good at evaluating properties and trying to assess how much they're worth.

You can't cash in your IRA before you hit retirement age without taken a stiff penalty and you can't simply trade away your real estate when the mood strikes you. 

I would simply file against them in small claims, get a judgement since they likely won't show up and get that reported in their credit report.  

What determines the success or failure of your choice is luck, your level of understanding, and your passion for it.If real estate is a goal simply to diversify, it doesn't have to be a primary business for you. 

Most loans have a "due on sale" clause, but this is simply an option the bank has, not a requirement.

I simply put down 20% as the down payment with a 30 years mortgage to close the dealI spent a weekend to clean it up, lease it out, and multiple application came in within the 1st week on market. 

I have narrowed down my options to a lease-option or owner financing simply because I have a 0% chance of securing traditional financing from a bank. 

They're more numbers to do calculations in your head...Cap rate, I feel, is not too different... it has a lot more bearing than those other 2 rules, but a blogger at BP pointed out, a higher cap rate could simply mean that the previous owner didn't keep the property well maintained...I have $230 worth of real estate investing books in my shopping cart on Amazon.