In addition, once you've freed up your equity in your current home and invested it in income-producing real estate assets, consider applying for a couple of FHA multi-family property loans (4 units or lease) which have competitive rates and low down-payments (3.75% at the time of writing this). 

We are now in "search" mode, we have created various versions of our own Cash Flow calculators, Cash on Cash calculators and have determined our goals for what we would like the house to produce in order for it to be something we would like to consider.

However, I've also read that they can be value by the income they produce through the gross rent multiplier (GRM) method. 

Identify similar properties nearby that produce income as a resident and as a commercial property. use those numbers to do your I=RV calculation, but discount the income to arrive at a conservative number.

My partners and I are primarily in the self storage space but will consider other income producing commercial.  

As of now at the basic level I am, my goal is to buy and hold properties at the residential level to produce a consistent cashflow.

If the later is your primarily focus I would focus on a property that produces healthy cashflow that aligns with your risk tolerance.Best of luck and keep us posted on your future decision!

I found one, worked like crazy to find the deal he was looking for, found it and he now has it producing at an 8 cap.

I'm a digital photography buff with a background in Photoshop.We agree on how harsh and ugly the light that 5000+K daylight LEDs produce is.

Sure, it makes the best chili, but how much work will you have to do in order to produce even mediocre tacos?