I am essentially challenging the concept of straight forward pricing of multifamily via capitalized NOI, specifically because of what you said - things change and fluctuate.

I compiled a bunch of my resources in this BiggerPockets Blog Post I wrote on Investing out of state.It includes tool to use to check on employment, think through your goals, etc.

Here I pay 1% for essentially turnkey, not property that needs to be renovated.  

Listen to the pod casts and explore the tool bar for areas of interest.  

The original developers who bought the land and started the whole thing got a big fat goose egg and a lot of grief dealing with initial land buying stages and development.The LLC, umbrella insurance, etc. are just tools.

Essentially, you are starting a small business.  

I think Bigger Pockets is the best tool out there for REI, both new and veterans!

I have some capital to invest, and luckily my mother is willing to invest with me, so that adds some significant capital, as well...Essentially, I am looking for the smartest way to being qualified for a loan or any kind of financing, on an 10-20 unit apartment complex in and around $400,000 - $500,000 that would definitely cash flow!

Not sure what the right formula is, but since downtime is essentially vacancy, it seems you would be double dipping to add the 5% vacancy.

Because essentially, even in your own county, especially Los Angeles, there will be hundreds of thousands of people you can always mail to.