I have an opportunity to purchase 21 apartments scattered across multiple buildings ( 80 total in the complex).

That totals more than $2100 for the laminate replacement.  

I generally view portfolios of houses as just a bunch of houses and want the total to be in my 75% ARV range or better.

@Ayman Elmasik, Have you tried using any of the below#1 using your house for short term rentals (aka AirBnB type) and then relying on companies like Evolve to manage it.

@Tereza Dyerova I run into this issue all the time in Chicago due to the high quality of a lot of the construction of the homes and the high cost to re-build them if they were to be a total loss.

So maybe i'm misunderstanding something on 1 end or the other...but figured I'd write a post and see if I can get some answers as far as closing in NJ. my total on closing is coming out to be $16,400 and 8,000 of that is my deposit.

We used around $35k total and held the rest in reserves. 

If you use your VA eligibility right now, then when you get to your next duty station and want to buy a nice home, you'll be what's called a 'MULTI user" and then over 3 points in VA Funding Fee will be stacked on your next VA loan.Here's what I'd do...or the subject property, since you have 10% down, do a FANNIE MAE  1st mortgage 80/10/10 = 90% Cltv)  purchase programEX:  180,000 purchase$144k  80% ltv - 1st mtg on a low rate Fannie Mae loan$18k    10% ltv - 2nd mtg (simo purchase money 2nd mtg) eliminates the PMIgives option to waive escrows you divide and conquer, meaning you can knock out the 2nd mtg. and drop total payment leaving just 1st mtg. paymentAlso, in lieu of a discount off sales price, simply negotiate seller credit to pay your closing costs (note: up to 6% of sales price seller concessions allowed)   

When that deadline occurs is totally up to you....the deadline will be based on where you sit on the spectrum of complete pushover vs heartless cutthroat business man....... everyone has to decide where they want to be.Personally I would probably set it at 30 days....1 month...no exceptions...period.

That is his total focus and he can point you in the right direction to build your multi-family power team.