I cannot speak to the specifics of the above deal, but in general deals in Norwich might sound like "steals" but there is a reason you can find "12-caps" in Norwich, CT: 1) Norwich is a depressed market, and I believe it's declining in population. 2) It's easy to underwrite deals in Norwich as a 12-cap, because showing "nationwide averages" on the pro-forma for line items (e.g. vacancies/bad-debt, repairs, reserves, turnover costs, etc.) might allow you to achieve those numbers. 

As many have noted here diversification is more easily achievable with the crowd (though you could also invest with a local HML as well and get that too) where you can put small amounts into syndicated deals.

Are the rents she is currently achieving going to drive the appraiser's number or is it simply the price the 3 unit property sold down the street as a closed comp regardless of income?  

The idea would be to move those bought properties to owned, and then achieve true cash flow.Maybe a better metric to determine if you have a good deal initially is cash on cash ROI, and positive cash flow?

I'm looking to network and soak up all the knowledge I can about REI and achieving FINANCIAL FREEDOM.

I would love to work with an investor to achieve this start up and make us both some money!  

Or is that even achievable here in Albuquerque?

The point of all that is to build trust, demonstrate your value, prove you can achieve real-world results, nurture your potential investors, tell everyone what you do, and don't be afraid to ask for investing funds.

Looking forward to finally taking steps to achieve independence.

1st you have to adopt the mindset that YOU have the power to achieve anything.