Cap rates of 6-12% seem to float around.Then, as far as buying a business, it is common to buy in multiples of earnings, ie. 2x-5x earnings, or more or less depending on the industry.Now, I was once looking to buy a convenience store (franchise) and it seemed as if I'd be buying around 2.5 times earnings, so higher than a 6-12% cap rate, but obviously that makes sense because it is much more work than a semi-passive apartment complex with a manager, or something along those lines.

Insurance and taxes are specific to each situation and will be the same regardless of interest rate etc so I leave those out of my calculations...even though they obviously will have to be paid directly by you or added into your payment.  

I did go to interview and I was lavished with praise about how wonderful I was, how obvious it was that I had what it takes, etc, etc.  

Obviously, no one needing a 3/1 would bother.

The biggest draw to real estate for me (beside the obvious financial freedom) is the philanthropic aspect of the business.

Houses and duplexes are obviously different from space sturctures, but I know a bit about structural issues.  

Based on similar sales int he area over the past 6 months, I think the ARV would have been around $150k so obviously there wasn't enough equity to make the deal work.

You make a mistake but now the laws protect an obvious con artist.

Hello Ryan,Miriam was pretty dead on and I would just like to add that if you can put down at least 5% you can get a LPMI ( lender paid Mortgage Insurance ) loan and the MI ( mortgage insurance ) will obviously be a lot lower. 

I'd start treating the multifamily valuation and retail valuation separately, though they're obviously a part of one whole.