The cash basis method of accounting is what you describe in #1-rent income is recorded when the cash is received, and expenses are recorded when the cash is paid.

@Trevor Kropp - Did the appraiser come up with a value for income approach that was $50K higher than the sales method or did they neglect the income approach altogether?

I just noticed a disagreement between @J Scott SFH_Rental_Analysis and @Brandon Turner Four Square method for calculating the cash-on-cash return.

I've watched numerous podcasts, read many books, I even passed my real estate exam to become an agent.

One of my holdups is i am not sure if i should put small down payments on numerous real estate purchases or a big down payment on one big real estate purchase. 

Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, TN Birmingham and Cincinnati had the lowest median investment sales price at $70,000.Why Invest in Birmingham, ALAs the largest city in Alabama, Birmingham is also one of the biggest commercial banking centers in the country as well and home to numerous colleges such as University of Alabama, Samford University, Cumberland Law School, and Miles College. 

I've previously listed in another post some of the methods that utility management companies use to determine how much of the bill goes where.

Also, if you search here for wholesalers, you should find numerous posts containing them.

Either I'm going to go for a non VA loan and purchase a SFH and do the BRRRR method or use the VA loan and buy a multi and do a house hack.

@Ryan Corcoran, depending on the asset class and your experience level, you can try:Seller financingSubject-toJoint VenturePrivate MoneySyndicationFannie Mae Apt loans (http://www.crefcoa.com/fannie-mae-products.html)I am sure there are many other methods people have used but these can get you started.