So, somehow or another the US government needs to have the income/expense equation move from borrowing each month in order to pay the bills to taking in enough money to cover all the expenses, the interest on the debt, and some amount of principle to retire the debt within some time period.Two ways to fix that - more income or fewer expenses.

If you say 18 months average, that equates to 2.75 vacancies per year.Total Expenses: 14162 (65.6%)Net Operating Income: 7438Debt service (P&I): 3066 (I assumed 30 years at 5.5%, with 25% down)Cash flow: 4371 (364/month).Figuring 15000 for your down payment, and closing costs of around 4000, that's about a 23% return on your 19000 invested.

Basically the equation looks like this1.

There are actual equations such as NPV, IRR, etc. that would make more sense to use than whether the cash from selling is greater than the cashflow.

The premium for a semi gloss paint might be an additional $10/gallon when flat is compared to semi gloss which equates to $50.

I was thinking perhaps giving him free rent, but to cover his expenses AND get him to take $100k of the price.There's probably an equation that will tell us how much to take off the asking price for every dollar in rent he pays until his space is filled for going rates.Any other leveraging ideas?

Don't over pay for a piece of property3.  50k loan would equate for roughtly a 400 to 500 dollar monthly payment (Depending on credit and down payment).at $850 per mo you are good.   

Run those equations, figure out how much he wants to put down and make a choice from there.And make sure he runs the numbers as if he no longer lives there.  

When I add vacancy and a maintenance budget in, the NOI drops to about half of the pro forma NOI...which equates to an ARV of about $165k less than what it's listed for based on the stated cap rate.Any way I look at it, this "deal" loses money. 

We are negotiating seller financing deals, masker lease options etc... and everyone wants either a down payment, option money or hard earnest money--- all these equate to SKIN IN THE GAME.