However, I currently work for a very large self storage management and real estate company, so I have gained a lot of insight on self storage, as well as real estate and management in general.Now that I have realized I just created a short story, I think I'll end this exciting tale of the Hero Accountant and the Real Estate Dragon now and let you get back to living life and making millions.

We have used this type of "in house" loan 4-5 times and then either sell or refi after the 6 month seasoning period. 

Should I work a short sale and see if Bank of America will be able to deal.

Don't waste your time if you don't have a marketing plan and budget...period!!

When attempting to purchase a pre-approved short sale, is it possible to negotiate a lower purchase price? 

If the amount that is owed is more than the value of the house then either walk away or work on a short sale. 

I rarely heard about multifamily buildings where occupancy fell 40% in short time frames.

I'm looking to get into this for the cash flow in the short term, with the goal to be able to help put my kids through college, and ultimately be able to enjoy life as my family matures.I'm in the Michigan / Metro Detroit area, but am also looking at long distance investing as an option. 

You need to be sure the home is actually live able/occupied though or you may have bought yourself a  rehab project and there is often a redemption period so you don't want to be rehabbing a trailer on a property that someone can redeem.

I wouldn't consider them the only method for investing, but in the short term have found them to be more lucrative in returns than all of my other paper assets consistently.