It is a tough market but if you produce a good product you can make good money.

If the property is a house, duplex, triplex, fourplex (some say anything under 10 units is a plex) it's value will be determined by comps and therefore isn't an income property that running numbers on will produce anything meaningful.

Thats just bonus.Both were purchased about 15% below ARV if you include the remodels needed into the purchase price... about 30% straight up.My plans for the future are to seek to acquire more income producing property.

LOLI honestly can't think of a better explanation than @Brandon Turner's good ol' site realestateinyourtwenties.com.See: http://realestateinyourtwenties.com/blog/cap-rates...A cap rate is a tool used to discover the value of an income producing investment property.

You place the property in service for business or income-producing use on the date of the change.

Why not just write the Earnest Money stipulation that the Earnest Money is forfeited by the end-Buyer for any reason except if the Seller can't produce marketable title?

This is based on fannie guidelines and they're are some other items that you would need to produce as well to qualify for delayed financing. 

Unlike single family homes, multis are valued using the income approach and thus the value is based almost entirely on what the property produces.

But at a value of a few hundred to $500K/apiece and the returns they are producing (15min from my home), it's well worth my time.

Additionally, How will the parties share in the annual cash flows to be produced from operating the property?