This should be taken as an example of why you cannot normally trust CAP rates provided by third parties - particularly the Vendor's pro forma / memorandum of offering where there will be motivation to provide a rosy picture.CAP rate is only a single metric and like other metrics (GRM, Price per unit, etc), it is insufficient to base a purchase decision upon it.

The best way to do this is to form a solid relationship with a general contractor you can trust who will be doing your reno work upon acquisition and have them walk the property with you when you tour for the first time.

Well, worry no longer: The State of New Mexico will allow 10 investors to form a syndication and raise up to $1M and be exempt from SEC and state securities regs.

Does anyone know of any robust templates for creating pro forma financial statements for real estate businesses?

You should be able to find some historic data on appreciation rates for the Greenpoint area to support your estimated appreciation on a pro forma basis.As a side note...estimating appreciation is a great exercise, but there is much more to consider on an an asset and project of this type. 

An example from my early investing with less cash down: i called around for a buyer's RE agent who would accept his commission in a form a note with payments over 60 months.

But in the case of a mortgage, I was swayed by the argument that defaulting on a mortgage is not "breaking the contract".A mortgage and note form a "complete" agreement.

I’d like to take advantage of every position I can when it comes to taxes/protection without going into crazy elaborate situations where I form a special trust in FL to register it to an LLC in Nevada, who operates in MO lol….The equity portion makes sense though.

Also if you plan to form a LLC you must register it as a multi member LLC.

In Indy, for non owner occupied properties, they are about 2% of the assessed value.If you find insurance for $400/year, please let me know where.The one thing you can count on is that the pro forma numbers a turn key seller gives you are not going to materialize.