No one has mentioned basic flow.

In this case, you are basically talking about house hacking- buying something to live in & renting out the other side.  

I'm in San Antonio and basically have the same plan as you do.

After these initial goals are accomplished, then I am able to set the bar even higher and go up from there.I read the Ultimate Beginner's Guide to REI a few times and have a fairly good understanding of the basics, which leads to believe that my goals can be accomplished a few ways.My question is: What would be the best way to go about it?

Just looking at some basic numbers like this will never tell you if the deal is good or not.

Im looking more towards the commercial side of development, however you may find "Professional Real Estate Development" and "Real Estate Development - Principles and Process" by the Urban Land Institute extremely helpful.

They basically had me tied up for 4 months.  

I basically want to see what the worst case is.

Is it possible to draw up a contract that basically says the contract is void if the deal is not met by X date?

It should not be too different than a 4 plex with a few basic assumptions like similar age etc.Are the units individually metered or is it all bills paid?