There are three distinct types of knowledge you needThe strategies - you don't need to know them all, You only need to  know one, enough to do a dealHow to evaluate a deal. - Many never get to this point. 

If so, start evaluating deals.  

   $1.5MM25% Down would be $375KIt was suggested to me to speak with the owners (who I know - they are personal friends) about Owner Carry for $250K.Does this mean A) The $250K is subtracted from the original purchase price and therefore I would have to come up with 25% of $1.25MM  or..B) Out of the $375K down the owner would carry $250K and I would have to put $175K down on the deal ?

Renting it out is an idea though I never considered doing buy and hold so I really have no idea how to evaluate if the property makes financial sense to do so with.

Similar to what you are talking about, some Realtors get paid to provide BPA's (Broker Price Opinion) - this is a really great way to learn how to evaluate a property and would get you the experience you currently lack. 

We are also interested in finding out-of-area cashflow properties and are currently evaluating different areas of the country to find some multifamily rental properties for buy and hold. 

I will send you a msgAbout the assignment, I'm pretty sure I'm right a bout the "Selling" of the contract as I've been reading it about it here for several months that investors put a  house under contract for lease with on option and then they put the option contract for sale, maybe is a new strategy or will that not work?

Hi @Joseph Post, How did the evaluation go with the property?

If it's a long term buy and hold it's not a huge deal as long as it produces enough cash flow to be worth it.I would pay a couple hundred dollars for a structural engineering report and take a reputable mason to evaluate it as well. 

I think you'd have to evaluate your own situation and make that determination.