The condition and the value of the property are the most important factors in conventional appraisals.For Hard Money Lending their method of underwriting NORMALLY uses an appraisal as well but their approval is based strongly on the exit strategy of the property.  

As an aspiring multifamily investor, i would like to hear from others about what has worked for them as far as raising capital for deals...Apart from hitting up family friends and co-workers...I was wondering if anyone out there has any out of the box ideas for finding investors and raising capital....Is there someone out there that has had some success with a method that is not maybe the standard approach?

Low and zero down methods are a bit more difficult to do with an active full time day job due to being more time consuming.  

Additionally, I've also been wondering, rather than using equity to purchase a multifamily, should I be using the equity in a method I've heard to pay down and fast track the payment on principal?

You could also seek to use the BRRR method to get some or all of your money out to put towards another property.

What methods/formulas are you currently using to identify good deals vs bad ones?

Have you compared that to any other available financing methods? 

means the BRRR method wont work anymore?

With this method, you can use the "projected rental income" without proof of occupancy/renters to help you qualify (income-wise) as long as the rents meet the Self-Sufficiency Rule.

I will try that method tomorrow and see how far I can get.