This buyer literally wanted me to pay to rehab the whole house with a the price reduction he wanted. 

In general, you have to realize the public perception of landlords are fat-cat wealthy capitalists. 

Where rent control has been enacted, tenants are encouraged to stay in their unit even if their housing needs have changed in an effort to secure their below market rates and markets have seen a reduction in the availability of rental units.

If I counted principal reduction I literally lived for free.

Technically one can have multiple solo 401k plans but it does not make since because of the following:When a self-employed individual maintains more than one trade or business, the questionarises as to whether the limit is based on the sum of earned income or loss from all trades orbusinesses under common control [as defined in IRC 414( c)) as modified by IRC 415(h)], or ifonly the trade or business maintaining the plan being tested is used.For purposes of the IRC 415limit, earned income for the self-employed individual is based on the sum of the earned incomefrom all the controlled trades or businesses, regardless of whether the related employer maintainsa qualified plan [Reg. 1.415-2(d)(6)].EXAMPLE: Andy, a sole proprietor, operates a law practice as a sole proprietorand has $100,000 of self-employment income from such practice for 2008 (prior tothe reduction for one-half of self-employment tax).

process is in favor of the state/city. always. no lawyer wanted to take any of my 30 houses. they all said "seems about right". how they make money when they dont take any work.....i am not sure.i fought two cases. paid hundreds. barely got a reduction to cover the cost i spent. and that's just for 2 yrs... its going up in 2 yrs.you just have to suck it, like the rest of us.

I would talk them into a 40K price reduction instead of giving you a 60K price drop for taking the time to write 42K on a cocktail napkin.

In my experience, most lenders will automatically apply any extra money as a principal reduction if you're "current" that month (ie, the normal monthly principal and interest payment has been made).As @John Horner suggested, it'd be best to talk to your lender directly to confirm what they do.Best wishes to you on your journey to real estate investing success!

Since this is a duplex, it may have unintended noise reduction qualities that will make for happier tenants. 

There are 4 ways to mitigate risk (risk avoidance, risk transfer, risk reduction and risk retention).