I know that I wouldn't be able to build or sub-divide which is fine, but my concerns are about the safety of it.   

Two big reasons for this are, the price you pay per door will be cheaper & there is real safety in numbers when dealing with any vacancies.

Lenders will want an arm, a leg, and your unborn child.Real estate sales can be a lucrative opportunity if done right, though you'll find find that your sales database takes longer to build than you may think at this point.

I had money I was saving for retirement every week with the fire department, had benefits if I got sick, and a check every Friday that was my safety net.

2) Any benefit to using same lender for a combo cash out refy on existing investment prop ARM (owe 70K, market value 210K) with a new 15 yr conventional investment prop loan as a single transaction?

It would also put the driveways along the same road, so people would be more aware of both driveways increasing safety.

The new architectural/safety regulations that occurred during the previous ownership can be waived for the old owner but once the property is leased to a new establishment they have to comply to the current regulations.

Higher up come needs related to safety and security: health, employment, property, family stability.

This starts with having the guts to put in an offer for those properties that are appealing, coordinating inspections, approaching the seller with either fixes to safety related issues or a repair credit, and closing the deal when things come up that get you nervous. 

We drop the raw loan into the top of the Plinko board (the beginning of the information extraction) and after the loan hits a bunch of pegs like short seasoning or must be 25+ years fixed or ARM is okay, but keep the points low or crime statistics of the property's neighborhood or even the experience of the borrower and the loan finally gets to the bottom, we know where to send it.