I'm currently renting an apartment and putting some money away each month in hopes to buy a place of my own when my lease expires in April.

They do this and not CAP rates because they don't have access to all of the necessary expenses to calculate an accurate NOI.

Second, sometimes you get weird things where Zillow pulls the *total* sq ft of a small apartment building for the rent estimate instead of just the unit.

I would live in the main house and rent out the apartment was the goal.

Or buy a value-add project that lets you increase rents and occupancy so you can build equity.If you want to build; design 2 or 3 apartment floor plans that fit your target market.  

Commercial (large apartments) are my end-goal, but I don't really have the cash for a down payment on a commercial loan right now.

I do have access to a real estate attorney, lenders, and title company to facilitate private sale, thus my question. 

So just completed a home/termite inspection on a duplex, found termite residues (State of NC defines it as active termite infestation), there is minor noticeable damage on the shoe molding on the floor but no signs of wear and tear on the wall but I nor the inspector cannot tell without ripping apart the wall how bad the infestation is- the seller is willing to pay for a termite extermination but my concern is how much damage these termites have already done on the inside of my walls that I cannot see- is there a termite expert professional I can hire to inspect the home more in depth during my due diligence period or anyway for me to get a peace of mind for this matter? 

@Matt Souza I have gotten the chance to speak with the tenants and they are not happy with the current owner and property management because their issues to them have been ignored and  the two who were saying they were ready to leave are the ones that pay late but all three are violating the terms of their current lease and since my family will be moving into one of the unit apartment with our children it isn't imperative to us that we know who isn't really living amongst us.

I don't know the answer to this, but I was thinking about it today....If you have a ROTH...key word...ROTH IRA, I don't see why the PRINCIPLE of that account couldn't be counted as liquid because it is POST tax and relatively easy to access with penalty.