@Mitch MesserI like it, about the easiest way to get into RE.

I'd say the easiest and most effective way to get started is grab a duplex and rent the other side while also renting the spare bedrooms in your unit or finding a 4+ bedroom single family and renting out all of the other rooms that you aren't using.

What are some of the rationales to reason with the seller that only half of completed NOI will be used for valuation given that capex are accounted for?

As covid ramped up earlier this year and there was an eviction ban, he thought he could just get away with not paying his mortgage.I made a half-serious suggestion to him that I would buy his property from him for exactly what he owes the bank (in cash), that way he could at least save his credit. 

That is up to the alderman and not the easiest process. 

Better yet, buy a duplex and live in half and rent out the other half?

So you are paying almost half of your cash out in closing costs?

Look at how it calculates its estimate- it asks for the number of bedrooms but it doesn't ask for the number of bathroom nor does it ask for square footage to finds its comps within half mile radius.

One way to structure this is to pay the commission on the sale, and get a credit equal to half that commission on each of the subsequent deals.Many agents are willing to do this, many are not.

Another reason 3 family buildings in particular will sell for a premium is because they are usually converted to condos and they are the easiest to acquire.