You will have the magic of  capital gains in 2 places that you will have lived in for 2 out of the past 5 years, making it possible to do a hopscotch move via 1031 exchanges.   

Try working the numbers backwards to see if a property is worth  chasing;Take FMR * 12mo * GRM to find max FMV that a unit could still provide a positive NOI.Frm (fair market rents) isn't too hard to find, but GRM(gross rent multiplier) is intuitive magic number 10 or less. 

I should also mention that their listing said the magical words "motivated sellers". 

No website magically will get you leads, But you will have a much better chance if the website is fast, is mobile friendly, and has the foundations of what Google appreciate in the infrastructure.

(these units each have a garage and backyard) Obviously this doesn't make magic happen on the calculator, but while I'm looking at this property, it balances between a property that fits my personal needs for living, gives an opportunity to manage my own property, gain experience as a home-owner, and potentially serve as a buy & hold after I move out. 

You will never magically know what a house is worth. 

The most frustrating thing is how simplistic much of it all is, it truly is simple, yet never done. instead, wildly complicated gymnastics of BS is what happens, because that's what makes a person who earns $144k a year, MILLIONS per year, seeming by magic. 

What I don't understand is where this 30% magically disappears to.

My favorite is your Magic Power to be Rich,it has all 3 books condensed in 1

There's no magic here.....it's based on your ability to save $10k every few months and paying that toward your mortgage.