You can meet or exceed the 1% rule and catch some appreciation due to some very measurable factors.

@Matt Roth As far as I am concerned, in the past malls were mainly measured by the amount of so-called 'anchor-stores' (such as Macy's, Bloomingdales, Northstrom etc.) that (I guess) would lead to the assumption that it attracts more customers to the mall...

There is always some measure of "selling" the deal to investors but it must be grounded in a clear-eyed analysis of the risks.Being able to create an accurate financial model / proforma is probably a syndicator's most important skill.

Generally speaking what measures do you take during the acquisition of the asset to help stack the odds in your favor?

@Dennis Canon - A good prospect to me means the seller is super motivated (kinda subjective but I've never seen any objective measurement for this), they have at least 30% equity in the property (based on ARV and mortgage principal remaining), and their price point is in the neighborhood of what my offer would be (i.e., they aren't expecting retail value for their home).  

Spent 20 minutes on the phone giving them my info and measurements.  

This would allow them a more measured transition and let them capture 3 more years of appreciation and cash flow while still garnering tax free treatment on the residence portion.If they go over that  5 year look back for some reason then the entire property would be eligible for 1031 treatment.

I use Personal Capital to measure my progress towards financial freedom.If you can spend less than $2,000 per month you may find that it is extremely easy to begin accumulating assets, switch jobs to one that offers more opportunity, or start a business with very low risk.

IF those screws are as stubborn and rusty as they look use a screwdriver and a hammer in proper measure. 

@Bob Bowling, lets look at it this way, in reverse, yes you are not paying 2,0000,000 or 1,000,000 out of pocket,but you need to look at it like what you pay for the property is what you are investing. the cap rate is the % of the investment, so that 2,000,000 property earns 5% to make the 100,000. now the other 1,000,000 property earns 10% to make the same 100,000. the 10% is a better outcome than the stock market will give you. i agree with @Joel Owens, the cap rate is only one measure you use to determine the profitability of a property. as i mentioned before, depends on money leveraged ( amount you put down) and ones mortgage also to see if a property is profitable for them, i personally do not count on appreciation of a property to hopefully make money if it is not cash flowing right ( only if you fix and flip or wholesale do you count on appreciation )