It does happen that the max ARV is attained in a rental refi but it's rare.

I did the duplex route. 9 cap is attainable with duplexes, but like others said, subtracting 1/4th from your first revenue generating investment is a much better deal than subtracting 1/2.

Even though rent increases have been strong in most of the country over the last 7 years, appreciation has increased the gap between attainable rents and values.

He also makes another good point, that if your neighbor opts to attain a STR license, you are now SOL if you, too (in line with the density measures), are taken out of the area of military duty in so much as your ability to use your property as an investment has been limited. 

Growth and distributions are tax free, so you'd only need to generate about $1.0 - $1.1 million to throw off enough cash to attain $10K month income.  

Were you able to attain the land at a discounted price? 

Each property that I've attained, I've made mistakes.

@Darryl JenningsHere are some of the metrics that I find valuable to understand:- Population - Home Values- Household Incomes- Rental Vacancy Rate- Homeowner Vacancy Rate- Poverty Rate- Educational Attainment Rate (High School/GED & Bachelors)- Number of Housing Unit- Rent to Income Ratio- Rent to Price Ratio- Population on SNAPS (supplemental nutrition assistance program) percentage- Property Tax Rate- Median Age of Buildings- Number of Structures by Units (SFR, Duplex, Triplex, Quadplex, etc...)- Median Rents by Number of Bedrooms- Unemployment Rate- Employment Sectors Percentages These are just some of the indicators that will help you understand the quality of an area as well as the kinds of returns one is to except.By taking into consideration the direction in which each of these metrics are trending, you will better understand where the market a whole may be heading.

Though, I agree they are hard to find, but yes, they are attainable.  

These factors are part of defining affordability in terms of operational costs.Reducing Op Ex should start with Project Design, which should include a deep dive into running a cost benefit analysis on energy efficiency for the items noted above including considerations for the building envelope, insulation, window/door package, framing and lighting and water consumption.Actually attaining any or all the of the goals noted above generally comes at a cost that typically falls on the developer which sets up an interesting conundrum for the developer.