I'm looking into Duplexes or Triplexes with the benefit of using an FHA loan to get the added bonus of putting 3.5% down instead of 20%.  

And as a bonus the fact that I know tax has opened up countless opportunities when going to real estate investor meetings--especially this time of the year when I can make time for them.Also, and this is unrelated to accounting, my two cents in terms of investing is that you should buy a 3- or 4-unit property using a low down payment (like FHA) as soon as you can after finishing school.  

Bonus points for anyone in the Virginia (Richmond, specifically) market.

Look at appreciation as an added bonus.

It is more prudent to treat it as the primary strategy and the others simply a bonus "if" you can accomplish one of them.Foreclosure takes time.

You can get 8-10%+ a year appreciation on 100k property is an extra bonus ($833 a month equity cashflow on 10%) on top of your normal cashflow. 

The added bonus would be if they are an investor too.  

Also the money from the shop is a bonus, I didn't consider renting it out until after we were already in escrow.

The part I'm struggling with is how to tie her "bonus" to the overall project profit. 

And then, of course, ask questions here, as people are generous with their free information.