How you present and court does carry weight along with your supporting documentation.

My up/down 2 family is at 1.12% and it's positive by $1200 per month, assuming no maintenance...Are there any applicable situations where this rule holds less weight?

Your breakdown of the numbers and points on what I missed help shed a ton of light.

I like properties in residential areas, no yellow lined streets, generally houses post WWII, 3 beds, more than 1 bath, some storage areas like garages, basements, sheds, yards for kids to play, and I like them no more than 30 minutes away.

Can anyone shed any light on the most typical, or best path for insuring a 4-plex in good condition?

Yeah, that's a "shed dormer".

1-4 residential for appraisal purposes puts more weight on the comparable sales approach. 5 plus units more consideration is put on the income approach for valuation.The purchasers who buy breaking even and hoping for strong rent growth year over year to create eventual cash flow are speculators and not investors.

I haven't heard much about the Sarasota market, can you shed some light on what's going on down there?

Property is currently "legally" listed as 640 square feet but the owner is renting it as a 3/1 using the finished attic as the master bedroom.If I put in a shed dormer on one side or even both then I can make it a master suite with a full bath and walk in closet. 

Houzz.com and Pinterest have hundreds of posts on little homes and "she sheds."