I would suggest reaching out to your local SBDC's (small business development centers) or SCORE (service core of retired executives) for assistance.

This gives you a stable income that a bank can use when getting a mortgage.

Plus I keep a general ~$15,000 extra reserve fund.I only buy rental properties when I have enough for the downpayment + all closing / acquisition costs and can fund the operating account at 10,000 or 6 months of PITI.Every year I fund retirement and HSA accounts to buy stocks (low cost index funds and ETF's) and bonds at a 90/10 ratio.

I don't see prices falling yet because inventory has significantly decreased, keeping prices stable for now. 

My tenants have stable jobs, which is why I chose these markets in the first place.

It’s in a stable area, good rent roll, owner has taken care of issues quickly and all units leased.I’m not positioned for a conventional mortgage.

That will tell the other side of the story.For cap. rates, I believe there will be competing forces: the flight to stable hard assets and increased uncertainty and stricter loan requirements.

I've been looking at buying my first investment property-a duplex in Upstate NY using a loan from my employer retirement fund. 

This represents their profit that they can then use to save for retirement, or re-invest in additional opportunities.Most commonly, investors will utilize cash flow calculations to determine if a property is a good investment.

From a lifestyle perspective, I envision this as a lever to achieve early retirement (retire at 50 with $10,000/mo in cash flow).