@Terri David you could possibly "hire" someone, for reduced rent, to look over the property and do showings, meet with contractors, etc... on a smaller building, but you'd still need someone to manage payments, marketing, tenant screening, etc.... it could save you some money on the management side, but you still need some type of management company, if you didnt want to do it yourself

Factoring in the mortgage, I came out at $90.68 (526.27 Net Operating Income - $435.59 mortgage) as my monthly cash flow.So here are my questions:Am I correct in thinking that I can finance $100,000 to cover my cash in, and use the difference between the appraised value and the financed amount ($41,000) as the minimum 20% equity to stay in the property that is needed by the bank? 

I am somewhat picky though because I know I can be, as I pass any basic landlord tenant screening with flying colors.  

Greg:    First, do not get discouraged by anyone, someone else is doing it so you can, not going to be easy.If not done already I suggest to look into this:Enforce that PM uses a great website for rental screening, ones with a background check and choose the best tenants possible.Review you leases to close any pitfalls and enforce the lease to the T.Keep the units in good shape and keep extra cash reserves ( fixing + trip expenses )Tiger than normal lookup on the PM ( have second PM line up ), vacancies, unit showing costs, repairs, fees, etc,  require a once a week normal operations report and a once a month full operations report.Family, friend on virtual assistant that regularly drive by the property and reports to you, or if cash flow allows and deem beneficial you can install security cameras and remote view activity on the property, nowadays there are lots of options.Check if feasible to get a home warranty plan for the units so some pain issues are self-managed by the tenant via a phone call to the warranting companyIn which city/state is the property? 

For 10 years I used padzilla, also known as tenant-net, for eviction and credit report screening. 

When the economy softens, tenant screening standards drop.

My goal is to begin my real estate journey buy acquiring a multi-unit i can occupy and rent out to cover to the mortgage and hopefully create small cash flow. 

@David Montore you can find them on Craigslist or Facebook advertising, and you can screen their backgrounds with tools provided from BP.

Initial cost is driven by home buyers making it too high and rent is rarely sufficient to cover expences.

At 5% interest, that would be $45K a year ($3750/mo) to the seller.Problem is, that $45K would only cover the interest on the $900K.