But you keep on dredging up these sob-story examples of marginally competent self-managing landlords who are, surprise-surprise, being run out of business by COVID adversity.If you're going to self-manage down at the lower end of the property spectrum, you had better be made of sterner stuff than this lady.

Listing noted both units are rented month to month at $1,350/mo each, which was on the lower end of the market.What I liked: (i) Location (nice B+ suburban area, close to the Villages and Orlando, 65%-35% own to rent ratio; that particular pocket had low to no crime and no registered sex offenders vs. other parts of town), (ii) Product type (3B/2B duplex with a garage, which is rare to find and is ideal for both a small family or a single professional with or without roommates; most duplexes on the market have no garage at all and are 1B/1B, 2B/1B, or 2B/2B), (iii) Age (2006, i.e. while it was on the higher end of my age spectrum it was less than 20 yrs old), and (iv) Upside potential - opportunity to bring rents closer to market post close (tenants were on month to month leases) and forced appreciation by performing minor refresh with some deferred maintenance expected due to age (roof, HVAC, heater).

Whereas those who are at the less expensive end of the spectrum could even do better. i remember seeing on the news how BBB sold a lot of single cup coffee makers during the great recession because people didn't want to waste a whole pot of coffee.

You'll find 'experts' from all areas of the RE spectrum.....

. $700k properties are on the high end of the spectrum for rentals.

In general, the single family homes in these areas tend to be on the higher end of the price spectrum, but of course there are exceptions within such a large area.The more common term for ADUs that we use here in San Antonio is 'casita'. 

Jerryll nailed it with his thought process.I've done house flips where I knew the profit would only be ~$25k at the end of the day, but those houses just needed a quick and easy refresh before re-listing for sale just weeks after I bought the deal.Then on the other end of the spectrum I have deals I'm pursuing that have a best case scenario net profit of $1M+ which require a ~2 year build out an a team of world class architect and builder to pull off. 

Right now, good duplexes in Nashville are in the 350-400k range which is on the higher end of your spectrum but I believe your association with Rebuilt Investments may be able to help you find a better deal on those.

It's all about where you want to be on the risk/reward spectrum.

Your cash flow depends on the rental strategy you are willing to do-there's a spectrum of work you're willing to do and your comfort level: To cash flow while living in the duplex: STR the other side and rent out the rooms on your sideTo cash flow when you move out, reduce living expenses: MTR the other side, keep your side to yourself and pay $1,000-$1,500/month towards your mortgage while living thereTo be hands-off and not cash flow but have no headache: LTR the other side and your side when you move out, use a property manager