This post is for my mom and dad who bought a couple duplexes back in 1999. The first one was bought for $70,000 and the next was purchased for $80,000. They are right next to each other in a great neighborhood. All four units rent for $550/month. Both have since been paid off and they enjoy $2200 per month rental income.

They said that the fact that the duplexes were single story and right next to each other was a huge ingredient to their success. They explained that it was easy for them to manage both properties since they were right next to each other and weren't running around town all the time. They also explained that since the properties were single storied, it was appealing to older people because there are no stairs. They by no means discriminated while sifting through their applications, but explained that their pool of possible tenants was bigger than other landlords advertising their two story duplexes. My parents were always good at getting tenants that stayed for 8+ years and usually until they passed away.

Thoughts?