I currently live in Atlanta/Dunwoody and I look forward to changing my family's life and my current life style through Real Estate Entrepreneurship. 

My goal is to eventually not need w2 income to sustain my way of life.

Because you have posted under the "Real Estate Deal Analysis and Advice" Forum, please find an real-life example possible "deal" that you might wish to consider, and share the particulars right here (except for the actual address).

It really doesn't work that way in real life.

In this case, I have a Section 8 tenant who just got unlucky in life, its a family of 4 looking for a home in Glen Burnie, MD or it's surrounding areas for a 3bed @ $1700 & under a month. 

The coursework taught me obscure laws and weird measuring techniques that will almost never come up in real life.

I'm trying to minimize the down payment so I can still have an egg leftover to deal with CapEx/anything else that can go wrong in my financial life.

I would have them clarify why, but know the insurance is something you shop for (and can shop for for the life of the loan) and taxes vary property to property. 

I am looking forward to starting a new chapter in my life and transition from the transportation industry to the real estate industry.  

Any advice is greatly appreciated.David,Here's what I do for my multi-family buyers:Yes it is hard to estimate for maintenance because of a lot of variablesBut I know its expense is less for more units, for things like 16+ unit buildings, onsite maintenance room for storage materials, onsite employees use less hours to do work ordersSome entities even volunteer their residents to pick up grounds, hence minimizing your maintenance costsIf hdsupply.com accepts your account they specialize in multi-family buildings and you don't have to use man power for delivery or pickups And yes, you can do analysis paralysis but it might help you the bank's formula DCRThe 1031 buyers look at expenses differently Yes there's a number per door, e.g. if the units have been neglected you will spend at least one month's rent in turn ready unit expense    An organized well lubricated team should turn ready units in 2-3 daysPay close attention to the human factor, i.e. low self-esteem employees who will take longer to turn ready units or do work orders with poorly workmanship, theft, etc In capital expenses, concentrate in a few and more expensive to start with, AC, plumbing, electrical