Using BP's Rental Analysis Tool

[Eric Kovich]

I'm relatively new to the BP site and to real-estate investing in general.   I have been busy over the past year or so educating myself through reading books, forum posts, and talking to people I know that are already in the game.

I have recently begun looking at multifamily properties in the Tampa/Bradenton/Sarasota area of Florida.  

I have a  few general questions on using the BP rental property analysis tool:

1. what are other's General experiences in "success rate" in terms of finding a deal that provides an acceptable cash flow?  I know this is a loaded question, but it seems like I can't get a property to put out a positive cash flow and am wondering if I am doing something incorrect in my data entry and assumptions or if there are really that few truly good deals out there at an advertised listing price.

2. is there a way in the calculator to set a desired cash flow or rate of return along with expected financing, income and expenses, then back-calculate the sale price that would deliver these results (besides re-running and editing the sale price myself)?

Thanks in advance for any insight you Elect to share.  I'm hoping to get my first deal done within the next 3-6 months.

Eric K