Buying a Duplex Property

[Prachi Metha]

I am looking into buying a duplex property in Sacramento region. I have seen few on the market that stay in market for a longtime or get back in market every few days. All these properties seems to have tenants as well so I am not sure why these properties stay in market for longtime.  In general what should be few points or notes I should look into while buying such property.  Is there any major difference while investing into single family vs duplex property? Please advise 

[Andrew Thornton]

I don't believe there is much of any special consideration you need between a duplex vs a SFH. Probably just make sure you have a good sense of the area it is in. I saw a duplex in Sacramento and was going to put an offer in on it, I called a property manager and he very frankly said "look, before you buy it drive around there on a Friday evening". Needless to say, I looked elsewhere. He had the hyper local knowledge that I did not have. Maybe the places you are looking at have reasonable numbers on paper, but might be sitting on the market because there are challenges in the neighborhoods they are in? Or maybe they come back on the market because the inspection indicates it need new everything?