I'm an active multifamily investor in Old Louisville and believe I actually sold your wife that 4-plex back in 2012. 

Actually i only have his email.

Hey Tate, here's what my commercial lender @ US Bank uses for pro forma debt coverage calculations if he doesn't have 2 years and YTD historical data (basically, seller's schedule E's)Vacancy: 10% of gross rents, unless there is sufficient market data at the bank's disposal to justify lower vacancy rates for the type of asset in question, OR detailed historical vacancy data from seller.Management: 3% gross rents or actuals, whichever is higher, with property management agreement provided to close.Cash Reserves: 3% of gross rentsTaxes: Actual data used.Insurance: 3% of gross rents, or as shown by insurance policy.Operating reserve: 20% - 25% depending on the type of asset and amount of historical data provided.

Something about since he's only a Trustee, and not the actual Trust holder, that there seems to be the confusion.

any actual detailed insight to how this works would be greatly appreciated.

You can search individual homes and see what the asking rent was, but you don't see what the actual rent rate was.

Make sure you look at the leases to ensure you know what the rents actually are and what concessions are being made. 

How much truth does this actually hold?  

Most brokerages actually lose money but use vertical integration with mortgage and title to make a profit.

He is actually paying out labor in cash right now and does no bookkeeping at all.