I'm working on the sellers to be more realistic about where the market is on these multifamilies.

STR looks like an attractive option but I am a novice in this area so looking for input on realistic income and cost estimates of a STR managed by a 3rd party property management company. 

This realistically gives you the cheapest houses in order in that area.  

I don't consider that optional.Although we don't recommend these $6000 out-of-pocket properties for most investors, particularly newbie investors, they do make a good investment for most provided you have realistic expectations from the beginning.  

Tools like market analysis can provide insights into industry trends and competitive positioning.Balancing Optimism with RealityTemper optimism with realistic assessments based on factual analysis.

Realistically i really want something before the year is over, and the sooner the better.

More realistically, if there's a veteran willing to give up re-using their VA loan entitlement amount in exchange for top dollar on the sales price, that's for the listing agent to proactively put in the listing description, and have a stock flier/email to send back when inquiring buyers/agents ask.

Thanks Andrew.How can I realistically start with smaller residential or small multifamily commercial properties?

Oh I see @Jay Hinrichs the old stuff seems harder to access not sure sorry not to read your whole question. i have wondered that about the older ones too, they were better more realistic.

Obviously there's a lot I don't know about your deal, but using napkin math and your figures, Id go for it - I think $1600-1800/month is realistic depending on the area at that valuation (just guesstimating the neighborhood quality based on ARV).