You will find that $300K for a 4-plex in this area is at the top of the scale.If the owner is moving out of state and doesn't have any equity, one strategy is to come in with a master lease or a lease/option which lowers the risk to you. 

But if they are seeking to hold a property for any length of time and want their cash investment back there are some important rules to understand with conventional loan:If you buy a property with cash (or with a HELOC) you can receive a cash out loan on Day 1.There is not a 6 month waiting period with receiving a cash out loan if you purchased a home with cash or with a HELOCBUT you will be limited to the amount of....Your purchase price + closing costs (costs when you purchased the home)OR75% of the “After Repair Value”...WHICHEVER IS THE LOWER AMOUNT (super important)These rules are important to understand so here are two examples:Example 1: If you purchased a home with $50k of cash, and put $30k of renovations into the loan, and the home was worth $100k. 75% is $75k and $50k is your purchaseprice.

Rents are a little lower in this area (so make sure you are researching the rental market for this area specifically). 

. - cover yourself while you can, or demand a lower price.

My primary goal is to have cash flowing properties in the future that would allow me to "retire" in a 10-year time frame.

Timeframe?

But my parents (growing up) had lower end rentals.

Sometimes the seller will lower price, sometimes they won't. 

There will be a specified timeframe in the contract so if the seller cannot perform due to the issue at hand you should be able to execute the notice to perform and put it on them.

Lower than normal?