Duplex flip or sale?

[Jonathan Shorts]

I am a licensed agent in Hattiesburg MS.  I have decided to get into real estate investing. I ran across a distressed property that is $,100 square foot and can easily be made a duplex. Based on contractor estimates, it will cost me about 50K for the work to be done. Purchasing it at 90k. My question is should I sell it as a duplex or keep it for rental income? They are not many duplexes or apartments in the area. Based on my research I could rent each side for $700 to $800 a month. If I were to sell it as a multi-family property I think I could Market it at 225k.  What give me hesitation about selling it is that I'm not sure an investor would want to purchase multifamily unit without established renters already. Sorry for the long question. Any advice will be greatly appreciated!