First Time Buyer Advise

[Justin Teal]

Multiple Questions in here.

My girlfriend and I are looking to begin our real estate investing career. We currently rent an apartment and are either considering a Duplex or a single family home. My preference is duplex for the extra income, however, the duplex's in my city (Duluth, MN) are entirely in not the best parts of town. My dream is to buy one of these duplexs and renovate the the side we live in first but the real estate person I am speaking with tells me that the few I've looked at are not worth putting any money into and that I will not get a return on either properties since no one will rent it once it's renovated.

Looking for tips here, is it truly not worth turning a building with decent bones and ugly floors,ceilings, etc. into a nicer property and increasing rent a couple hundred dollars if the building isn't in a wealthy neighborhood? Do I simply buy a single family home in a better neighborhood for now (we plan on moving to the West Coast in the next couple of years after we are married). 

Extra info: Home I'm looking at currently has renters in both floors $1,100 a month in base floor, $1,200 in the top floor. Attic area is partially done (no electrical, plumbing, etc, just the basically the lumber is put down but that could be turned into a one bedroom,kitchen,bathroom rental space as well, but again I was told not to put anything decent in there if I buy it.)