When combined with the appropriate use of leverage, you can supercharge your returns in excess of 20% right here in the local market.  

So in all cases but one the spread is greater than 3%, and in that case (using higher-interest bridge debt) we plan to refinance into lower cost debt by year 3 which will then create a spread in excess of 3%.Unfortunately buying commercial income property (includes multifamily) requires very sophisticated financial analysis and there are no shortcuts or rules of thumb that will give you the complete picture. 

Then eventually the excess cash flow can be distributed.How should I structure the deal with the family member? 

And although our numbers are up, it still takes an excessive amount of work to find these opportunities on a consistent basis.Anytime I'm in a rut in my quest for deals, I always remember that thing my parents told me, that so many other kids heard from their parents growing up too: "It's not what you know, it's who you know."

For instance, if I stashed away 10% of the property value or a certain fixed amount in the account, can I then start diverting funds to a general account and snowballing the excess funds onto individual properties or as personal income?

Excess cash.

After title clearing, purchase of property, excess fees, your profit quickly shrinks to several thousand dollars.

There was a recent BPMoney podcast on dealing with excessive student loan debt.

Real estate will provide me the final missing piece of cash flow in excess of my lifestyle’s expenses.

There's a greater likelihood of parties, increased traffic, excess wear-and-tear, etc.