Has anyone tried this method?

My last house in FLorida was "uninsurable" because of old plumbing but I found an insurance provider who gave me a month because she didn't have to send pictures to the company for a month.  

The questions I have are....What methods of lead generation has been the most effective for you in Cleveland?

Your plumbing issue would seem to fall into that zone as working plumbing is necessary for habitability.  

In some situations, the lender’s analysis may determine that using alternative rental income calculations or using lease agreements to calculate income are more appropriate methods for calculating the qualifying income from rental properties.

If RE is the way you want to invest, I'd recommend one of 100 other methods to invest in RE, especially starting out.

Cash flow is my end goal, but in order to reach that point where I can afford those kind of properties I'm left with the method mentioned above unless someone can give me any better ideas.Please, anyone reading along this thread; would you please give me some pointers if my mindset is not in the right place or there is a more optimal route I can take.Ideally, I'd like to keep my potential business partner because of the fact that he would cover any labor costs in the present as well as in the future and is giving me full control of the property in terms of tenants, decisions on holding / selling, and what to do to properties in order to appreciate their values.

You want to evaluate the different kind of financing available to you and what each method of financing offers you. 

I see 9,2 times closing costs, 9,2 roofs, 9.2 times the plumbing calls, 9.2 times the eviction costs, 9.2 times more paintig, 9.2 times the HVAC's !!!  

This accounting method lets us sleep better at night knowing that we didn't over-pay for that location, and gives us significant cushion incase of a blow up.