If the appraisal comes back lower than you expect, you can challenge them on that if you provide proof in the form of additional comps in the area (Ask your banker about this if it comes up, believe me they will do a lot for you if it seems like you are willing to walk away from the deal).You can also request a lower APR, and some banks will give it to you if your banker pushes hard enough for you, OR if you have a comparison offer from a competing bank. 

Just for comparison sake, I own a 4 unit about in Tucson that generates $26,400 in annual gross income.

If you can make it out there, network in the REIAs and talk to others about potential partners.Do a double blind comparison: Work two people at once and don't inform one about the other to get two different opinions on a particular deal.

If you can try to look up what the comparisons models in the neighborhood are going for.

By comparison, for buy and hold here in Chicago we are looking at I am getting 12 cap.

You might want to do a similar comparison and see what makes sense for you.I don't see any advantage to paying off a portion before starting to invest.

@Cory AdamsI just closed on a couple of duplexes last Friday and based on the comparison, your deal seems a little high.

The 30% rate he's mentioning is an annual rate, I'm sure, so the comparison is valid.Are you borrowing 100% at the rates you mention?

But WhitePages.com just strikes me as weak in comparison.

Even my background in construction management pales in comparison of doing your own personal project.