Today they confirmed they wouldn't go below $360k, so I've told our agent to say Thank You & call us when you drop your price.180 DoM, no prior offers (until we hinted we'd make an offer). 

Existing tenants both signed leases within the past two months so nothing really to go off of, but did confirm with agent that seven people are living one of the units, and five are listed on the lease for the other unit (both three bedroom units).

the 3.5% down is reserved for owner occs.. now if you want to buy a duplex or 4 plex you could use 3.5% down as long as you move in and live there. although 15k may not be enough

There are owner-occupied loans (FHA, USDA) that allow you to use very little capital on the upfront costs, which would allow you to use the other capital for either repairs or reserves.

I'd speak with other land-lords on the prospective block or even get in touch with PM in the area to confirm those numbers.

As a result, I want to lay out a scenario I hope to create (let's assume I can create the scenario below) and I am asking feedback on all of the things that could go wrong that I should anticipate/prepare for: Scenario:5 fourplex properties = 20 units (average $900/month rent) - Looking for cash flow not necessarily appreciation for these properties$1.5MM in investment property debt (Average purchase price $300K; Market Value $400K)$500,000 equity across properties (Average $100K)Loans: Conventional fixed rate or seller financing fixed rateRental Income: $18,000Mortgage for all properties monthly: $10,000Cash Reserves on hand: $200,000 (separate from the equity in the properties)Reason for Scenario: My purpose in stepping away from a full-time job would be to start ramping up flips to pay down the mortgages over time.

I'm in the process of having an architect do some elevations to talk over with the city and the bank, but I'm not wanting to pay for the full design until it's been confirmed to me that we are on the right track.

Good to get some confirmation.

Can you expense capex reserves on the income statement for tax purposes?

When evaluating a property, do you subtract Capex reserves from your operating cash flow when calculating cash on cash returns?