@Michelle Coffee cool!!

The person who owned it prior to us had been there 30+ years and knocked out a doorway between the two units and lived in the whole property. 

How did you guys overcome getting to and through your first deal without prior real estate experience?

I spoke with a realtor, who was prior service, and he gave me the advice I'm about to give you.

If you go with a true provider, they should have done everything in-house prior to purchase.

I would assume that most lenders would want a contingency on the purchase of getting new leases signed prior to closing.

If not I’d be happy to meet up with you and grab some coffee.

The amount of distributions treated as a qualified higher education expense with respect to the qualified education loans of any individual can't exceed $10,000, reduced by the amount of distributions so treated for all prior tax years.

Here's the really powerful end game - If you stay in that duplex for at least two years of the 5 year period immediately prior to selling it you will get to take the first $250K of profit ($500K if married) from the primary residence side tax free. 

Thank God I had just swallowed that coffee!