If this is a single family...you should have 1 month vacant every 3 years or so.Your interest seems low, but maybe thats because you are paying points.

Also for the cap rate question you asked, I wont tell you what kind of investments to make, but I personally would not take low/no cash flow property on the hopes it will appreciate.

Are there special financing sources that could make it worthwhile to set aside some of the residential units for low income housing or put solar on the rooftops or . . . ?

I might have an investor that will go as low as 600 on that as well?

What else do I need to think about, and what would a good “low ball” offer be on this?  

Other than "as low as possible" or "as high as possible."

As for the other neighbors are all the rentals low priced or are neighborhood owner occupants going to cause you issues?

But high level:1) If the units rental income doesn't cover mortgage its not going into my buy/hold portfolio , I have a separate "appreciation" portfolio for that on (think San Francisco where CAP rates are 3-4 , but if you can wait out or turn low rent controlled tenants you can improve the building profile.) 2) I am currently looking for places in B- to A- areas.

Price / Rent Ratio - lower the better Avg Median Income - feeds into #2, not as important on its ownAvg Median Price - feeds into #2, not as important on its ownAvg Median Rent - feeds into #2, not as important on its ownRent % of Income - rent should be >1/3 of incomeSociodemographic Rank - should be high (used this article)Population Growth - should outpace US average (used this site)Jobs Growth - highger the better (used Forbes data: example)Law Favorability - should be landlord-friendly (used Avail: example)State Tax Favorability - should be favorable (used this article)Poverty Level - should be low (used city-data.com)Crime - should be below US average of 290 (used city-data.com)Industries Present - should be diverse (used city-data.com) Here are the markets I evaluated: Bend, ORGreenville, SCCharlotte, NCMeridian, IDMidland, TXSpartanburg, SCHuntsville, ALKent, WAWithout any further delay, here is my market analysis laid out with selection criteria and markets: As you can see, the Top 2 Markets are: Meridian, IDCharlotte, NCand they are mostly green across the board, hitting all selection criteria, at a reasonable purchase price for my first investment at a young age.Now that I've completed a brief analysis, I'm looking to dive into deal finding and developing my Core 4.What are your thoughts on my preliminary market analysis?

The value add will be mostly in increasing the projects occupancy from low 70s% to market occupancy (about 94% physical, 91-92% economic).